Rally for Rae a success!

Sixty-four teams on eight courts participated in West Morris Central High School’s Rally for Rae on June 27, raising almost $19,000 to support Rae Gutkowski, a former West Morris Central and Allegro player who has also worked as a coach at Powerzone camps. Among the teams was one consisting of Powerzone staff, and many featured current or former Allegro players.

Rae was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, and started chemo therapy at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City earlier this year.

A highlight at the fundraiser was when Rae made an appearance and was given a five-minute standing ovation by the participants, which included students, teachers and staff from the school and club players from all over New Jersey.

“”Thank you all again for supporting Raeanna. Wow, Wow, Wow!  I can’t stop saying those words.  What a night it was!  All those volunteers, players, spectators, refs, food donators, EMT’s, police, administrators, faculty, etc.  It was truly amazing and so uplifting.  A HUGE thank you to everyone for an outstanding fundraiser.   We couldn’t have done it without all your help.  I had a wonderful time seeing everyone and I know you did too.  I’m proud to say that from before the event started and after, it totalled $18,800 and donations are still coming in!  Just awesome.” organizer Carol Roth said in an email sent out to supporters.

Contact Roth (carolrileyroth@hotmail.com) if you would like to contribute.

Online summer camp registration!

Online registration for this year’s Summer Camps is now available in our online store !

In the online store you will find in-depth descriptions for all the girls, boys, and youth camps.

We do require a physical signed copy of the registration form for each camp that players are enrolled in. This can be downloaded here and handed in at camp check-in.

Grass tournaments in Clifton!

PowerZone will be hosting Grass Tournaments at Robin Hood Park in Clifton this summer. Enjoy the weather and get out and play!

Tournaments will be held June 27 and 28, July 18 and 19, and August 29 and 30. Matches will begin at 9 a.m., check-in (at the Pavilion) starts at 8:30 a.m.

Saturday divisions will include Mens and Womens triples (levels AA, A, BB and B) and High School Girls Quads (levels BB - varsity and B - junior varsity). Sunday will feature reverse doubles (levels AA, A, BB and B).

Pre-registration is $25 for adults, $15 for juniors. Entries after 10 p.m. on Thursday will cost $5 more per player. All players must be current PowerZone members or pay a one-day membership ($5). If you are under 18, a guardian must sign your application.

Register and pay by mail, fax, or online. First, email grasstournaments@powerzonevb.com with your information (player’s names, division, etc.). Same-day on-site registration may also be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Games in the tournament are sideout scoring (OLD SCHOOL!) with a full-sized court. Playoffs will follow pool play in each division, with the top two or three teams (depending on size of pool) advancing.

The flyer for the events, with directions, is available at the front desk.

Southern wins state title

By Fred Siegle

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - When Southern reached it’s lowest low in April, the Rams used it as the impetus to propel themselves toward their first state title.

The Rams lost to CBA at a quad at St. Josephs on April 15, ending their 78-match winning streak against Shore Conference competitors. Coach Eric Maxwell decided to use that loss to challenge his team.

“We came back, we went into the team room, and I told them they had two choices,” Maxwell said. “We could be remembered as the team that lost the streak, or we could be remembered as Southern’s first state champions. Everybody rallied around that.”

“I did not want to be known as the team that lost to CBA,” said setter Shaw Keller.

“We were all mad at each other after losing to CBA,” said middle blocker Rob Kraft, who provided the match-winning point with his fourth kill. “Coach Maxwell told us flat out we could erase that loss, by winning states. That was our goal ever since.”

On Thursday, the Rams completed the push they began that day, beating St. Peters Prep 25-18, 25-17 to win the NJSIAA championship.

St. Peters, which won the NJSIAA North championship on Tuesday with a victory over arch-rival Bayonne, went into Thursday’s match hoping to put pressure on Southern’s offense with tough serves. Instead, a flurry of errors in each game hurt the Marauders’ chances.

In Game 2, Southern held an 11-10 lead and went on an 8-4 run that was helped by St. Peters missing four of its five serves in the stretch. That gave Southern a commanding 19-14 lead.

In Game 1, St. Peters led 6-2 but Southern went on a 7-3 run that included three straight service errors by the Marauders.

“We thought we needed a strong service game to keep them from running their offense,” said St. Peters coach Don Guide. “Sometimes when you try to do that, the kids aren’t mature enough to control it. We won lots of games this year because of our serves, it just wasn’t on tonight.”

Nick Nichols ended the first game for Southern with a kill on an overpass, and also finished with 4 kills in Southern’s balanced attack. Austin Geary and Drew Maxwell each also had 4 kills, while Keller had 15 assists, 3 kills and 2 blocks.

“We have such a balanced team, anybody can have a big day for us,” Nichols said.

The Rams battled their way through a tough road to reach the championship, eliminating the two teams - East Brunswick and St. Josephs - that had won the last three titles and nine of the last 10, along the way. The South semifinal victory over East Brunswick was particularly important, Nichols said.

“That was the biggest game, they knocked us out each of the last two years,” he said. “Once we got past East Brunswick, we knew we were for real.”

The Rams were supported by a huge crowd from their school (St. Peters also had a huge fan group at the match), and Kraft said that provided some inspiration.

“We came out a little nervous, but the crowd helped turn it around in our favor,” he said.

St. Peters was led by their juniors, as outsides Parker Kolodka and Kenny Walters each had 7 kills and middle John Armstrong added 6. Junior libero Alex Cogott had 11 digs, while another junior, Mike Blicharz, did the setting.