River Dell rallies past Demarest in classic sectional volleyball final

ORADELL — Once River Dell got rolling, very little could hinder its momentum.The top-seeded Hawks secured the North Group 2 girls volleyball championship by rallying past No. 2 Demarest, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 15-3, in the Nov. 12 final.Claiming its first sectional title since 2017 advanced River Dell (22-4) to the Nov. 15 Group 2 state final at Franklin High School, where it will face South sectional winner Ocean City (25-2) at 3 p.m.Demarest (19-4), the Bergen County champion, built a 10-point advantage in the third set on its way to a 2-1 lead in the match. But the Hawks made it close with a late flurry, and their energy seemed to carry over into the fourth set.River Dell reeled off eight straight points after the Norsewomen scored first, and the lead grew to 15-3. By that time, the visitors had used both of their time outs.With the fifth set being played to 15, the Hawks got a side out for a 3-2 lead, and junior libero Mela Camovski served 10 points in a row – including two aces – to swing the outcome.Check out the photo gallery, then continue reading.Players of the GameKailyn Murray-McCormick, River Dell: The senior from River Edge was heavily involved in the offense with 11 kills and 21 assists. She also had two key blocks during her team’s fifth-set run.Roni Jastrzebska, River Dell: The senior served the run that helped the Hawks pull away early in the fourth set and finished with 14 kills, 20 digs and 3 aces.Marissa Petrocelli, River Dell: The junior outside hitter led her team in kills (22) and digs (21).Deana Finkelstein, Demarest: The senior standout did all she could to keep the defending Group 2 champs’ hopes alive, tallying 11 kills, 16 assists and 5 blocks.They said it“I would be so proud of our team regardless of what happened. But I think winning [the title] shows who we are as a group, especially for all the people before us that got so close, and it really justifies all of our hard work.” —Murray-McCormick“This group takes care of themselves. I just guide them along. They’ve come back from long runs [by opponents], and they just keep fighting and fighting and fighting.” —River Dell coach Dianne Furusawa“Volleyball is a game of momentum… it’s like a wave, right? And you’ve just got to ride it as long as you can. So I think that gave them what they needed to go into the next set.” —Furusawa on the mini-run late in the Hawks’ third-set lossMy takeThere are times when being No. 1 does not work out, as River Dell found out in the Bergen County Tournament. The team started 13-0, then lost twice to Ramapo in its next three matches, including an upset in the Bergen quarterfinals.Would the Hawks have liked to win their first county crown since 2016? Of course. But one thing to remember about that year is that they went unbeaten all the way to the state final and were upset by (coincidentally) Ramapo and finished 26-1.The point is, even a bitter loss can help a team refocus and reach its potential.“After we lost in the county quarterfinals, that’s when we knew that we really had to come together as a team and make sure that we were still pushing ourselves to be better,” Murray-McCormick said.Naturally, Demarest is in the opposite camp this year, having won the county title and lost the sectional. But it is equally true that any body of work still deserves to be commended when championships are involved. The Norsewomen put forth a strong case to be in the top two when the final North Jersey Super 20 is revealed at season’s end.This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: River Dell rallies past Demarest in classic sectional volleyball final