It would have been easy for the Belleville girls volleyball team to write off 2025 as a lost season. Afterall, on Oct. 18, the Buccaneers were 5-13, eliminated by Cedar Grove in the first round of the Essex County Tournament and looking unlikely to qualify for the state tournament.
Instead, Belleville has gone 6-0 since then, including its first tournament championship in years when it defeated Bard in the final of the Essex County Invitational, 25-11, 25-7 on Oct. 29.
Teams that lost in the first round of the Essex County Tournament move over to the Invitational. Belleville also picked up regular season victories over Bard and Columbia during this winning streak.
“The tournament title meant a lot to the girls,” Belleville head coach John Spina said. “The happiness on their faces when they were presented, the trophy was priceless. It just seemed like the weight of a long and strenuous season had been lifted off of their backs.”
The first round loss to Cedar Grove sent Belleville to the Invitational. Once there, Belleville quickly swept its way past University and Newark Tech, setting up a semifinal matchup with St. Benedict’s on Oct. 28.
In the semifinal, the Bucs emerged with a 27-25, 25-22 victory. Oriana Davies, who moved from middle hitter to outside hitter due to an injury to Ruby Perez earlier in the Invitational, finished with a career-high 10 kills as did fellow outside hitter Emily Anuscavage.
Perez was moved to opposite hitter after missing a couple of matches due to Davies’ play on the outside. The move didn’t seem to faze Perez, who added four kills with 11 digs. Setter Brianna Sinchire added three kills with 20 assists, while Anuscavage had 13 digs.
In the final against Bard, Davies set a new career-best for kills with 13. Anuscavage had 10 kills with nine digs, Perez added five kills and eight digs and Sinchire dished out 24 assists.
“Davies was great (at outside), hitting at a very high percentage and once Ruby came back I was able to position her at opposite hitter,” said Spina. “It just created a huge balance for our team because now no one could focus on our outside hitters.”
It’s a starting rotation that has not only worked, but one that should be together for multiple seasons. Anuscavage, Davies and Sinchire are all sophomores, as are libero Juliana Ramirez, and middle hitters Sara Dusic and Johan Paguio, who rotate with senior Emma Estrada. Perez is a junior.
Senior Martina Lopez is Belleville’s defensive specialist with fellow seniors Darril Rowe, Mya Estrict and Julianna Gonzalez also seeing time in some rotations. Freshmen Gredmary Sinchire and Gabriella Moscoso also saw time during the Invitational.
Belleville (11-13) is the 11th seed in the North 2, Group 3 tournament and will open at sixth-seeded Newark Central on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
“I have a group of kids that believe in our mission,” said Spina, who also was quick to thank his assistants Ryan Sheridan, David Browne and Gary Anderson as well as AD Marcellino Marra and AT Jenna Bidoglio. “Records are only a number and I would tell them ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.’ We have a resilient group of young ladies that don’t give up when things are tough.”
In North 2, Group 2, Lyndhurst (16-11) will begin its sectional title defense as the fifth seed, going up against Leonia on Monday, Nov. 3. Harrison, which at 16-10 is having its best season in nearly a decade, is the 10th seed and goes to Mendham.
Also on Monday, Kearny (7-16) is the 13th seed in North 2, Group 4 and goes to Newark East Side. While in North 1, Group 4, Bloomfield (16-7) is the fourth seed and plays North Bergen.
On Tuesday, Nutley (13-14) is the eighth seed in North 1, Group 3 and hosts Wayne Hills.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)