THREE-PEAT: Princeton High girls’ volleyball player Naomi Lygas sets the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Thursday, junior star Lygas contributed 10 kills and eight digs to help PHS defeat Princeton Day School 2-0 (25-6, 25-10) in the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) tournament final. It marked the third straight BCSL title for the Tigers. PHS, who moved to 22-1 with a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-13, 25-10) over Paul VI last Monday, play at Union Catholic on October 30. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Naomi Lygas and her teammates on the Princeton High girls’ volleyball team were determined to show that they weren’t overrated as they hosted the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) tournament last Thursday.

“I know that coming into today we saw that we were ranked first on NJ.com, so that was a big thing,” said PHS junior star Lygas. “Now we want to prove ourselves to be that.”

The Tigers proved to be a juggernaut in the tourney, topping Hopewell Valley 2-0 (25-11, 25-11) in the BCSL semis and then dismantling Princeton Day School 2-0 (25-6, 25-10) in the final. It marked the third straight BCSL title for the Tigers.

Topping HoVal in the first semi helped PHS get into a rhythm.

“Now that we don’t have our junior varsity playing, I liked having that little break in between two,” said Lygas. “We got the energy flowing which definitely brought us in the mood. Starting with a win was a really good thing.”

The Tigers started the final against PDS with a 20-0 run, triggered by senior star Lois Matsukawa’s superb serving.

“We knew that both teams had already played a game today. We wanted to make sure that we came out strong because no matter what happened, we wanted to finish and start the same way,” said Lygas.

“Coming out to a really big lead was super important to us. Lois did everything she was supposed to do and more. We also knew, going into it, we wanted to move the sets around. We wanted to keep it a little different if PDS had a plan coming into it. We ran some plays we worked on, some plays in practice too that we wanted to incorporate, and it definitely clicked.”

Things kept clicking for the Tigers as they started the second set with an 18-0 run in cruising to their three-peat. Lygas contributed 10 kills and eight digs in the win while Matsukawa piled up 18 assists and 30 service points.

“The first time was definitely something; we hope to see four years in a row on the banner,” said Lygas, reflecting on the third straight BCSL crown. “It is a relief to know that we won again this year. It just shows all of our hard work and we didn’t take our foot off the gas.”

Suffering a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame on October 7, its only setback this fall, helped show PHS that it can’t let that focus slip.

“Ending that game, it was definitely something where we knew there were some things we needed to fix and work on,” said Lygas. “In practice we really focused on those aspects of our game and coming out in the following games.”

Displaying that focus, PHS defeated then-top ranked Williamstown 3-0 on October 19.

“We have played Williamstown a lot before, so we knew how they played,” said Lygas in assessing the 25-23, 25-17, 25-14 victory. “It really helped us put our mental game locked in at practice as well as all of the games.”

In the course of that triumph, Lygas moved her career kills total to 736, breaking the previous program record of 724 set by Gillian Hauschild ’20.

“I think it is so cool, I honestly didn’t know it was coming,” said Lygas, who has 245 kills so far this year to push her career total to 779 and has committed to attend Tulane University and join its women’s beach volleyball program. “Gillian was amazing. I could not have done that without my team and everybody around me. It is such a team effort but to reach it is so cool.”

PHS head coach Patty Manhart was proud of how her team started in the BCSL final.

“That is usually something I don’t like to do in games, but it is the type of thing where it is league playoffs, they are just that dominant,” said Manhart. “That is just how they play. If that is the outcome, then we are going to enjoy that. It is really impressive.”

The way the Tigers took care of business in the second set was equally impressive.

“In games, there are always little things. You lose your focus, you make easy mistakes, you miss passes, you miss serves,” said Manhart. “So to know that they were focused through and through, I am really proud with the level of energy they still came out with to dominate.”

The defeat to Notre Dame has sharpened the team’s focus as it heads into the homestretch of the season.

“You can’t take anything for granted and I think that is the lesson that we learned,” said Manhart. “We are using that as fuel moving forward.”

With PHS looking to win a second straight New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state title, Manhart believes her team is on track towards that goal.

“I also think being at the end of October, everything is clicking,” said Manhart, whose team moved to 22-1 with a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-13, 25-10) over Paul VI last Monday and plays at Union Catholic on October 30.

“We have worked out the kinks, we are ready to go. We have big wins under their belt, so I just feel that is where we are now as a team. I have been looking at power points and we are at the top of our group, so we expect to host every round until the finals at Franklin. It is a nice home court advantage after being on the road so much this month.”

In the view of Lygas, the dominance the Tigers displayed in winning the BCSL tourney was a good sign as they look to produce an encore performance in the state competition.

“We had a really good run last year and this year we hope to do it again,” said Lygas. “We have a lot of difficult games coming up as well so going into it, having a good confidence boost is really important. We have to work stuff out so it was good to see everybody working together and having the energy.”