Lady Highlanders’ volleyball lose in county quarterfinals

The West Milford High School volleyball team lost to Passaic Valley 2-0 in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Passaic County Tournament in Little Falls last Friday.

The Lady Highlanders beat Wayne Hills in the opening round of the tournament after sweeping Passaic Charter in the preliminary round.

West Milford lost both sets of last Friday’s match against Passaic Valley by a score of 25-16.

Junior Caitlyn McNally had a team-leading 16 digs in the match, while sophomore teammate Samantha Araujo had eight of her own to go along with her three kills.

Junior Rory McCormick and senior Anna Brand tied for the team lead with four kills apiece.

McCormick also had a team-high three aces in the match, while Brand wasn’t far behind with two.

Senior Erin Swajger recorded five digs, five assists, and an ace in the losing effort as well.

The Lady Highlanders entered the tournament as the 10th seed, while Passaic Valley entered as the second.

Aside from tournament play, West Milford split its other matches this week, getting a win over Paterson Eastside on Oct. 10 before losing to Passaic Valley once again this past Tuesday.

McNally had six aces and three kills in the win over Paterson Eastside and Brand had two of her own to go along with her eight kills.

Swajger had six digs, three assists, and an ace, while senior Kasey Orlowski recorded eight assists and two aces in the match as well.

The Lady Highlanders won the first set of the victory by 25-15 before taking the second set 25-9.

Brand had another strong match in Tuesday’s loss to Passaic Valley with her eight kills and three digs.

McNally also recorded nine digs in that match.

West Milford (5-13) was looking to get back in the win column this Thursday, when the team was scheduled to play Fair Lawn at home.