Girls Volleyball: East Brunswick clinches second-straight GMCT title

The East Brunswick High School girls volleyball team defeated Colonia in straight sets Saturday afternoon to clinch the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title for the second year in a row. 

Top-seeded East Brunswick (18-4) won the first set 25-16. 

“The first set went really well,” East Brunswick coach Christian Portera said. “The girls were really strong on defense and serving.” 

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In the second set, Colonia (17-7) brought a little bit more of a challenge to the court. 

“Our opponent came out strong in the second set and really gave us a run for our money,” Portera said. 

After East Brunswick fell behind in the second set, a 17-17 tie made it possible for the Bears to make a comeback in the last few minutes. 

“My girls really stepped up their game at the end,” Portera said. 

Portera praised Jordyn Horowitz, Samantha Balsamo and Kayla Benesz for being the strongest players on the court.

“Jordyn did a really nice job the whole game and had the game winning kill,” he said. “Samantha did a really good job on defense and was very successful with confusing our opponent by moving the ball around to all of our players. Kayla also stepped up with a lot of good swings.” 

East Brunswick now advances to the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament, where it will take on Hackensack on Tuesday. 

Satisfied with his team’s performance since September, Portera is confident about entering the tournament. 

“If we continue to play the way we’ve been playing, we will succeed,” he said. “These girls can upset a lot of teams.” 

East Brunswick 2, Colonia 0

East Brunswick: Samantha Balsamo 2 aces, 4 kills, 15 assists, block, 2 digs; Kayla Benesz 3 kills, 8 assists, 3 digs; Emilie Chinchar 3 kills; Lavanya Collapancheri 3 kills, dig; Jordyn Horowitz 7 kills, assist, 5 digs; Faith Hutson 4 aces; Dena Kolupaev 5 digs; Kristina Kuzmina ace; Dina Zemlyanker 4 digs; Celina Zhou 4 kills, 2 digs. 

Colonia: Sam Ashton ace, 2 kills, 13 assists, 6 digs; Christina Blauvelt 4 digs; Andrea Camacho-Tenreiro kill, block, 2 digs; Camila Camacho-Tenreiro 2 kills, 5 digs; Dakota Dacunha kill, block; Patience Heath kill, 2 blocks; Manuela Martinez 10 kills, 5 digs; Angelina Wintonick 7 digs; Sophia Wintonick 5 digs.