Boys Volleyball Advances to State Semifinals

With its win over Vernon Friday in the North 1 state sectional title game, the Fair Lawn High School Boys Volleyball team returns to the state semifinals for the fourth consecutive year.

The Cutters, who were reeling after a 1-3 showing at the Super Six Showcase three weeks ago, have not dropped a set in county or state tournament play since.

They cruised Friday against the second-seeded Vikings, 25-12, 25-11, who had trouble handling the Cutters' serves all day.

Fair Lawn has struggled executing its serves most of the season, but they poured on the aces against Vernon, with sophomore defensive specialist Ryan Healy (six), senior libero Charles Gigante (four) and senior setter Andrew Small (two), combining for a dozen aces on the day.

Fair Lawn travels to South Brunswick High School on Tuesday to face South Jersey champion Southern Regional High School at 6:30 p.m. The winner advances to the state title game on Thursday.

The Cutters and the Rams are well-acquainted, having met in the past two state volleyball title games. While Fair Lawn won both of those matches, Southern has gotten the best of the Cutters this year.

After a convincing 2-0 win against Southern early in the season, the Cutters have dropped their past two matches against the South Jersey volleyball power. The squads met most recently in the Super Six Showcase on May 11, where Southern prevailed 26-24, 25-14.

If they're going to successfully defend their state title, coach Peter Zisa said the Cutters will have to again get consistent play from their servers and secondary players, as the Rams are expected to key on shutting down senior phenom Chris Nugent, the state's best player.

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