Falcons earn the title of state's top team
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

METUCHEN - In a thrilling three-game match, the St. Joseph High School boys volleyball team topped Bridgewater-Raritan to win its second NJSIAA volleyball title in school history, and the first under head coach Miguel Cabrita.

"It's great to win a sectional title and a state title under the new format," Cabrita said. "It's like getting two for the price of one."

The Falcons won the sectional title last week by knocking off an East Brunswick squad that beat the Falcons in regular season action and in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament finals. This last time the Falcons topped the Bears in two games 25-23 and 25-18.

"When we matched up against them at the GMC Tournament, it wasn't on our best day," Cabrita said. "But we sort of felt them out and at South Brunswick in the sectional finals we knew what to do and paired up a lot better."

Kurt Backlund and John Moll came up big in the victory. Moll was on fire finishing with seven kills and eight digs while Backlund supplied the team with another solid passing game.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff (Clockwise from top) The St. Joseph volleyball team reacts after beating rival East Brunswick in the state semifinals on June 7 at South Brunswick High School, while Dan Deverin continues celebrating by taking off his shirt. St. Joe's Drew Colon blocks the shot of East Brunswick's Mike Wagenblast.

"Our guys did such a solid job blocking to terminate points quickly," Cabrita said. "We were also able to slow things down and keep East Brunswick's big hitters from going wild."

Sophomore middle Paul Konopacki played with aplomb in the pressure-packed environment as he finished with six kills out of seven attempts.

"Matt Scott did a nice job setting, and our offense was able to convert," Cabrita said. "Paul Konopacki was great and he helped out tremendously in the state final game too."

Things were tighter in the state finals against Bridgewater-Raritan as the Panthers stretched the Falcons to three games. St. Joe's took the first one, 25-16, before Bridgewater-Raritan forced a third with a 25-18 win in the second game.

"It was neck and neck for a while in the first game before we started winning two or three points at a time to pull away," Cabrita said. "We put a lot into that first game and Bridgewater rolled off some solid defense to take the second one. We got back into because they made some unforced errors but they had a big enough lead and were able to close it out."

Bridgewater-Raritan continued to roll at the start of the third and decisive game, and built an early four-point lead. The Panthers eventually held a 24-23 lead before Konopacki erased match point to even the score at 24. The two teams went back and forth before middle Drew Colon scored the team's 28th and 29th points for the 29-27 win.

"It was definitely an exciting match," Cabrita said. "Our eight guys did an amazing job."

Senior Alan Zastrow was instrumental in the win, coming off the bench to play some minutes on the outside and score some crucial points. Dan Deverin and Keith MacDonald played smart aggressive games for the Falcons as well.

The team finished the season an impressive 30-4 to tie the school record of wins in a season and to capture its first state title since the 2002 season.

Along with Moll, Deverin, Backlund, and Zastrow the teams bids farewell to fellow seniors Joe Vastola, Matt Scott and Joe Raviola, and four-year team manager Tom Bacsik.