Chatham Tops Morris Catholic in Straight Games

Solid serving and a last minute burst of intensity propelled the Chatham women's volleyball team to a 2-0 victory over Morris Catholic Wednesday at Chatham High School.

The first of the two-game match got off to a slow start for Chatham. When Sam Thiel started serving for the Cougars, the team was down 4-1. After she and the team scored three points, the Cougars and Crusaders exchanged back-and-forth points.

When Amy Lee came to the line to serve, Chatham was trailing 11-10. Lee gave the Cougars the surge they needed by serving seven points, four of which were aces.

"Amy is one of the most consistent servers for us and it swung momentum [for the team]," Chatham head coach Kristin Lopez said.

Not only was Lee consistent, but she knew that her team needed her.

"Serving is the one thing you can control, you have to do a good job because everyone is depending on you," Lee said.

By the time the Morris Catholic took possession of the serve, Chatham had seized a 17-12 advantage en route to a 25-17 victory in the opening game.

The second game was marked by technical errors on both sides of the net, with unforced errors committed by each team.

After falling behind by two points, Lopez called a timeout to refocus her team.

"I told the girls we have to play smart—it's all about volleyball IQ," Lopez noted. "We had to match their [Morris Catholic's] intensity."

The Cougars responded, and Liz Maurer served the game-winning point to give Chatham a 28-26 edge and the victory over Morris Catholic. Maurer had five aces and eight kills on the day.

Chatham, which improved to 3-0, will next face Parsippany High School on Tuesday at 4 p.m.