Lady Highlanders volleyball looking for positive season end

The West Milford High School volleyball team lost to Lakeland High School at home on Tuesday by a final score of 2-1.

That makes it five losses in a row for the Lady Highlanders, beginning with the team’s Oct. 11 loss to Passaic Valley in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Passaic County Tournament.

West Milford swept Passaic Charter in the preliminary round of the tournament before sweeping Wayne Hills in the opening round.

Following the tournament elimination match, the Lady Highlanders lost to Passaic Valley once again before being swept by Fair Lawn at home last Thursday.

West Milford lost the first set of the match against Fair Lawn by a score of 25-13 before losing the second set 25-18.

Junior Caitlyn McNally had a team-high 10 digs in the match to go along with her two kills, while teammate Kasey Orlowski had eight digs and five assists.

Senior Anna Brand added six kills and an ace.

On Monday, the Lady Highlanders lost again on the road against Mahwah, a match in which McNally recorded another eight digs and a kill.

Orlowski had another seven digs of her own, while senior Erin Swajger had eight assists, four digs, and two aces.

Monday’s loss led to Tuesday’s match against Lakeland, which West Milford lost two sets to one.

The Lady Highlanders lost the first set 25-18 before taking the second 25-23.

Lakeland won the final set 25-12.

Junior Rory McCormick recorded eight kills and a block in the losing effort, while McNally had six aces.

West Milford (5-16) was looking to finish its season with a win on Thursday, when the team was scheduled to travel to Wayne Hills to play the Patriots.