Beauty and the Beasts have made it clear they are the team to beat in the Men's Sixes League as the playoffs approach.
B&B (Chris Schuler, CJ Pinkney, Taras Borysyuk, Jarad Houston, Luis Martinez, Maribelle Viray and Cody Barry) finished the regular season with a 25-5 record, easily outdistancing their closest Gold Division competition, Ugly Ball (19-11) and the Pillsbury Rollers (17-13). They won the second-half standings with a 9-3 record, beating Ugly Ball (6-6) 2 games to 1 in the final match.
That means Camp Bell, which began the season in the Silver Division, finished tied for second in the Gold Division, also with a 6-6 record. Camp Bell (Mike Campbell, Eric Chen, John Titus, Ed Pyo, Ryan Kelly, Jim Findura and Roman Stobnicki), which has had a strong cast of substitutes, including Tom and Bill Narath in recent weeks, beat Ugly Ball 2 games to 1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-22) in their match on Tuesday. But Ugly Ball had beaten Camp Bell 3-0 earlier in the season, which gives them the tiebreaker for second place.
Beauty and the Beasts beat Ugly Ball 19-25, 25-17, 25-19, with Cody Barry leading the way with 17 kills. Jared Houston and Louis Martinez each had 9 kills, while Chris Schuler chipped in 5. Taras didn't play last week due to an injury.
Adam Lewis paced Ugly Ball with 10 kills, while Abe Ammary and Gregory Solovey each had 8. Adam also had 3 blocks, while Abe and Gregory each had 2. Greg Grande (4 kills) and Ilya Shchukin did the setting. Joe Saab (3 kills) and Rob Curran (4 kills) anchored the back-row defense.
The Pillsbury Rollers (Brad Kniewel, Dan Lattanzi, Robbie Widmer, Jay Sawicki, Glenn Soria and Dave Harvey) moved up to fourth place (5-7) by winning all three games - 25-20, 25-21, 25-23) against Warren Sixpak (4-8).
This week, the 10 teams in the league will play college-style matches (best 3 of 5 games to 30 points) against each other for playoff seeding positions.
B&B plays Ugly Ball, Camp Bell plays Pillsbury Rollers, and Sixpak plays the Warthogs, the top Silver Division team (11-1), who will now play in the Gold playoffs. Reminder from the league director: Teams can't use substitutes in the seeding matches or in the playoffs!
The Cheesesteaks (Fred Siegle, Andy Balint, Rich Amon, Eric Balint, Mark Kochan, Nick Serpico and Steven Gregory) had a strong finish to the regular season, winning all three games (25-19, 25-21, 25-18) agianst PZ to finish the second half with a 7-5 record. They'll play each other again in the seeding match.
The other silver seeding match will pit All the Kings Men against WML.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Men's league matches of the week
Ugly Ball and Camp Bell both had 2-1 victories over some of their main competition in the Gold Division of the Men's Sixes League on Tuesday night, keeping both in contention for top spots in the upcoming playoffs.
Ugly Ball beat the Pillsbury Rollers 25-19, 23-25, 15-11, with Adam Lewis leading the way with 10 kills. Bob Curran, Abe Ammary, and Gregory Solovey each had five kills, while Jack Henriques added four in the balanced attack. Setter Greg Grande spread the ball around to all his hitters, and Ilya Shchukin anchored the serve-receive and defense as libero.
Brad Kniewel led the Rollers with 12 kills, while Dan Lattanzi and Dave Harvey each had five. Glen Soria had three blocks.
Brad was the star of the 25-23 win when he went back to serve with his team losing 23-20 and served the next five points, including 3 aces.
All three games were 2-pointers (32-30, 25-23, 23-25) in Camp Bell's match with SixPak. Jim Findura and Tom Narath each had 12 kills to lead Camp Bell, while John Titus had 8 kills and Michael Campbell had four.
Jeff Wiedemann had 12 kills, Glen DeMagelhaus added 10, Tom Burke had 7, and Colin McNeill had 6 for SixPak.
Ugly Ball also won 3 games against PZ in an inter-divisional match, and is 4-2 in the division for this round. The Pillsbury Rollers also lost 3 games to Beauty and the Beasts and are struggling with a 2-7 record. Camp Bell also lost 3 to Beauty and the Beasts and is 4-5. Beauty is 6-0, while SixPak is 2-4.
Ugly Ball beat the Pillsbury Rollers 25-19, 23-25, 15-11, with Adam Lewis leading the way with 10 kills. Bob Curran, Abe Ammary, and Gregory Solovey each had five kills, while Jack Henriques added four in the balanced attack. Setter Greg Grande spread the ball around to all his hitters, and Ilya Shchukin anchored the serve-receive and defense as libero.
Brad Kniewel led the Rollers with 12 kills, while Dan Lattanzi and Dave Harvey each had five. Glen Soria had three blocks.
Brad was the star of the 25-23 win when he went back to serve with his team losing 23-20 and served the next five points, including 3 aces.
All three games were 2-pointers (32-30, 25-23, 23-25) in Camp Bell's match with SixPak. Jim Findura and Tom Narath each had 12 kills to lead Camp Bell, while John Titus had 8 kills and Michael Campbell had four.
Jeff Wiedemann had 12 kills, Glen DeMagelhaus added 10, Tom Burke had 7, and Colin McNeill had 6 for SixPak.
Ugly Ball also won 3 games against PZ in an inter-divisional match, and is 4-2 in the division for this round. The Pillsbury Rollers also lost 3 games to Beauty and the Beasts and are struggling with a 2-7 record. Camp Bell also lost 3 to Beauty and the Beasts and is 4-5. Beauty is 6-0, while SixPak is 2-4.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Coed league division shifts
What Hurts (Roman and Angela Bulawski, Jennifer Duff and Rich and Paul Mehlin) and AARP (Terry Standfast, Tina Torbino, Mike Cohen and Sarah Chisholm) will be moving up to higher divisions after the completion of the first half of the Coed 4's schedule.
What Hurts went 6-0 in its games Wednesday and finished the first half with a 14-4 record in the Silver Division. Resistencia (Carla Barbatu, Junior Martins and Vinicius Costa) was the closest competition with an 11-7 record.
AARP went 5-1 on Wednesday and moves up from Bronze to Silver after compiling a 15-3 record. BUCA (Jen Peach, Jon Raser, Phil Oney, Mark Skeels and Tony Weshefsky) was second in the division with a 12-6 record.
Ultra moves from the Gold to Silver division, while Jumbled Up drops from Silver to Bronze.
In highlights from Wednesday's games:
Anthony Makoujy had 12 kills to lead Stu's Crew to 3 wins over the Flying Squirrels. Stu Nemiroff had 4 kills and 3 aces - including the game-winning point in the first game. Scott Shaw had 15 kills and AJ Prentice had 8 for the Flying Squirrels. Melissa Eckoff had two aces.
Roman Bulawski had 18 kills and Paul Mehlin 10 in What Hurts' three victories over Team 5. Roman also had six aces - three at the start of game 2 as What Hurts jumped out to a 10-4 lead, and three at the start of game 3 as they took an 8-5 lead. Jen Duff had two aces and did all the setting, as What Hurts played with only 3 players. Rich Mehlin arrived in time for their second match against Jumbled Up.
Chris Petitto had 9 kills, Alex Milov had 7, and Deneen Murawinski had 5 for Team 5.
Alex had 2 blocks during a 5-point scoring stretch in the second game as Team 5 closed from down 21-13 to 21-18. But after a time out, Roman, who was the back-row player at the time, ran a fake 1-ball that distracted Alex enough to prevent another block and What Hurts won the next point.
Jonathan Brooks and Jay Baum each had 12 kills off sets from Jen Hollis for the Intellivision All-Stars as they won 3 games against Team Happy. Bryan Schaefer had 8 kills and 3 blocks, Ryan Less had 3 kills and 6 blocks, Jennifer Parker had 5 kills and 2 aces, and Karen Nolan had 4 kills for Team Happy.
What Hurts went 6-0 in its games Wednesday and finished the first half with a 14-4 record in the Silver Division. Resistencia (Carla Barbatu, Junior Martins and Vinicius Costa) was the closest competition with an 11-7 record.
AARP went 5-1 on Wednesday and moves up from Bronze to Silver after compiling a 15-3 record. BUCA (Jen Peach, Jon Raser, Phil Oney, Mark Skeels and Tony Weshefsky) was second in the division with a 12-6 record.
Ultra moves from the Gold to Silver division, while Jumbled Up drops from Silver to Bronze.
In highlights from Wednesday's games:
Anthony Makoujy had 12 kills to lead Stu's Crew to 3 wins over the Flying Squirrels. Stu Nemiroff had 4 kills and 3 aces - including the game-winning point in the first game. Scott Shaw had 15 kills and AJ Prentice had 8 for the Flying Squirrels. Melissa Eckoff had two aces.
Roman Bulawski had 18 kills and Paul Mehlin 10 in What Hurts' three victories over Team 5. Roman also had six aces - three at the start of game 2 as What Hurts jumped out to a 10-4 lead, and three at the start of game 3 as they took an 8-5 lead. Jen Duff had two aces and did all the setting, as What Hurts played with only 3 players. Rich Mehlin arrived in time for their second match against Jumbled Up.
Chris Petitto had 9 kills, Alex Milov had 7, and Deneen Murawinski had 5 for Team 5.
Alex had 2 blocks during a 5-point scoring stretch in the second game as Team 5 closed from down 21-13 to 21-18. But after a time out, Roman, who was the back-row player at the time, ran a fake 1-ball that distracted Alex enough to prevent another block and What Hurts won the next point.
Jonathan Brooks and Jay Baum each had 12 kills off sets from Jen Hollis for the Intellivision All-Stars as they won 3 games against Team Happy. Bryan Schaefer had 8 kills and 3 blocks, Ryan Less had 3 kills and 6 blocks, Jennifer Parker had 5 kills and 2 aces, and Karen Nolan had 4 kills for Team Happy.
Blast from the past
Jay Riazanow, an original PowerZone member, moved to Florida in 1999. When he returned to New Jersey last week to visit his son, he also made sure to stop by and get back "in the Zone''.
Not surprising, since Raizanow, who lived in Rockaway before retiring to Florida, was one of the people most anxious to play when PowerZone was set to open.
"I was one of the first guys to play here,'' Riazanow said. "One of the last things that had to be done before it opened was putting the floor (Taraflex) in. I kept stopping in, checking to see when it would be done. It took a little time.''
Raizanow said he played in PowerZone as soon as one section of the floor was ready. "It was interesting, it was a little messy (the courts that weren't ready yet). I guess you'd call it rustic.''
Raizanow, who participated in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy as a featherweight weightlifter for Isreal, subbed in the coed league for Stu's Crew on Wednesday night.
The Crew had its best showing of the season, going 4-2 in its 6 games. Raizanow was able to catch up with other long-time members like Paul and Rich Mehlin Phil Oney and Terry Standfast, who play in the league, along with Kathy Stanton, who's club team was practicing that night.
Not surprising, since Raizanow, who lived in Rockaway before retiring to Florida, was one of the people most anxious to play when PowerZone was set to open.
"I was one of the first guys to play here,'' Riazanow said. "One of the last things that had to be done before it opened was putting the floor (Taraflex) in. I kept stopping in, checking to see when it would be done. It took a little time.''
Raizanow said he played in PowerZone as soon as one section of the floor was ready. "It was interesting, it was a little messy (the courts that weren't ready yet). I guess you'd call it rustic.''
Raizanow, who participated in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy as a featherweight weightlifter for Isreal, subbed in the coed league for Stu's Crew on Wednesday night.
The Crew had its best showing of the season, going 4-2 in its 6 games. Raizanow was able to catch up with other long-time members like Paul and Rich Mehlin Phil Oney and Terry Standfast, who play in the league, along with Kathy Stanton, who's club team was practicing that night.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Coed league week two results
With the first section of the season over halfway completed, Touch It (Lynnette Chen, Sean and Carrine Mackey, and Anthony Calabria) has taken a big step toward being the Gold Division's top team.
Playing with only three players (Carrine wasn't able to participate), Touch It won a first-place showdown with Team Happy (Karen Nolan, Ryan Less, Bryan Schaefer and Jenifer Parker, with Heidi Brady substituting for Karen this week), capturing all 3 games (25-14, 25-15, 25-18) in the matchup of two previously undefeated teams.
Touch It followed that victory up by winning 2 of 3 games against the Intellivision All-Stars (Jen Hollis, Jonathan Brooks, Chris Weber and Jason Baum), 17-25, 25-18, 25-21. Team Happy won 2 of 3 from Ultra (Edna Cetina, Jeff Shirtz, Roman Stobnocki, and Jim Elliott substituting for Alex Desau), 25-11, 25-17, 18-25.
Anthony had 18 kills and 3 aces in Touch Its' match with Intellivision, while Sean had 12 kills, 2 blocks and 4 aces. Lynnette did the setting and also had a kill and an ace. Jason had 23 kills, Jonathan added 8, and Chris had 5 for Intellivision. Chris also had 2 aces, and Jonathan added 1.
Touch It now has an 11-1 record, while Team Happy is 8-4. Intellivision is 4-8, and Ultra 1-11. After next week's matches, the bottom team from the Gold Division will move to the Silver Division.
In Silver Division highlights, Resistencia (Carla Barbatu, Junior Martins, Vinicius Costa and Milson Peixoto) made a big move upward, winning five of six games to improve to 7-5 for the season. What Hurts (Jen Duff, Roman and Angela Bulawski, and Rich and Paul Mehlin) went 4-2 and leads the division with an 8-4 record. Team 5 (Laura Stoll, Deneen Murawinski, Chris Petitto and Alex Milov) went 3-3, winning all three against Jumbled Up (Joe Cristofaro, Samantha Deckert, Bria Lovelady, Tory Thompson and Pat Coleman, with John Cain subbing for Joe), but losing all three to Resistencia. The games against Resistencia were some of the best of the night, with scores of 25-15, 25-23 and 17-15. Team 5 is now 6-6, while Jumbled Up is 3-9. After next week's matches, the top team from the division will move up to the Gold Division, while the bottom team will slip into the Bronze Division.
In Team 5's wins over Jumbled Up, Alex had 13 kills, a block and 4 aces, Deneen had 5 kills and 3 aces, Laura had a kill and 5 aces, and Chris had 2 kills, a block and 3 aces. For Jumbled Up, Pat had 6 kills, John had 9, Tory had 4, and Bria had 3.
In the Bronze Division, AARP (Tina Toribio, Sarah Chisholm, Terry Standfast and Mike Cohen) lead with a 10-2 record. BUCA (Jen Peach, Jon Raser, Phil Oney, Mark Skeels and Tony Weshefsky) are 9-3, Flying Squirrels (Melissa Eckoff, Mark Menadier, Kat McPhail, Scott Shaw and AJ Prentice) are 4-8, and Stu's Crew (Stu Nemiroff, Judy Larick, Kellye Pierre, Anthony Makajouy, and Bill Condon) are 1-11. After next week's matches, the top Bronze team moves up into the Silver Division.
BUCA won 2 of 3 games against Flying Squirrels (26-24, 15-25, 15-5), with Phil compiling 9 kills, a block and an ace to lead the way. Mark had 5 kills, Jon had 3 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces, Tony had 3 kills and an ace, and Jen had 2 kills and 2 aces. AJ and Mark each had 8 kills for the Flying Squirrels, with AJ also contributing 6 aces. Kat had 4 kills and Melissa had 2 kills and an ace. The Squirrels managed to combine their soccer experience with the volleyball skills, with numerous kick saves during the match, including one kick-over the net by Kat. The Flying Squirrels' players are all teachers at Morris County Science and Technology School, which is just down the road from PowerZone.
Playing with only three players (Carrine wasn't able to participate), Touch It won a first-place showdown with Team Happy (Karen Nolan, Ryan Less, Bryan Schaefer and Jenifer Parker, with Heidi Brady substituting for Karen this week), capturing all 3 games (25-14, 25-15, 25-18) in the matchup of two previously undefeated teams.
Touch It followed that victory up by winning 2 of 3 games against the Intellivision All-Stars (Jen Hollis, Jonathan Brooks, Chris Weber and Jason Baum), 17-25, 25-18, 25-21. Team Happy won 2 of 3 from Ultra (Edna Cetina, Jeff Shirtz, Roman Stobnocki, and Jim Elliott substituting for Alex Desau), 25-11, 25-17, 18-25.
Anthony had 18 kills and 3 aces in Touch Its' match with Intellivision, while Sean had 12 kills, 2 blocks and 4 aces. Lynnette did the setting and also had a kill and an ace. Jason had 23 kills, Jonathan added 8, and Chris had 5 for Intellivision. Chris also had 2 aces, and Jonathan added 1.
Touch It now has an 11-1 record, while Team Happy is 8-4. Intellivision is 4-8, and Ultra 1-11. After next week's matches, the bottom team from the Gold Division will move to the Silver Division.
In Silver Division highlights, Resistencia (Carla Barbatu, Junior Martins, Vinicius Costa and Milson Peixoto) made a big move upward, winning five of six games to improve to 7-5 for the season. What Hurts (Jen Duff, Roman and Angela Bulawski, and Rich and Paul Mehlin) went 4-2 and leads the division with an 8-4 record. Team 5 (Laura Stoll, Deneen Murawinski, Chris Petitto and Alex Milov) went 3-3, winning all three against Jumbled Up (Joe Cristofaro, Samantha Deckert, Bria Lovelady, Tory Thompson and Pat Coleman, with John Cain subbing for Joe), but losing all three to Resistencia. The games against Resistencia were some of the best of the night, with scores of 25-15, 25-23 and 17-15. Team 5 is now 6-6, while Jumbled Up is 3-9. After next week's matches, the top team from the division will move up to the Gold Division, while the bottom team will slip into the Bronze Division.
In Team 5's wins over Jumbled Up, Alex had 13 kills, a block and 4 aces, Deneen had 5 kills and 3 aces, Laura had a kill and 5 aces, and Chris had 2 kills, a block and 3 aces. For Jumbled Up, Pat had 6 kills, John had 9, Tory had 4, and Bria had 3.
In the Bronze Division, AARP (Tina Toribio, Sarah Chisholm, Terry Standfast and Mike Cohen) lead with a 10-2 record. BUCA (Jen Peach, Jon Raser, Phil Oney, Mark Skeels and Tony Weshefsky) are 9-3, Flying Squirrels (Melissa Eckoff, Mark Menadier, Kat McPhail, Scott Shaw and AJ Prentice) are 4-8, and Stu's Crew (Stu Nemiroff, Judy Larick, Kellye Pierre, Anthony Makajouy, and Bill Condon) are 1-11. After next week's matches, the top Bronze team moves up into the Silver Division.
BUCA won 2 of 3 games against Flying Squirrels (26-24, 15-25, 15-5), with Phil compiling 9 kills, a block and an ace to lead the way. Mark had 5 kills, Jon had 3 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces, Tony had 3 kills and an ace, and Jen had 2 kills and 2 aces. AJ and Mark each had 8 kills for the Flying Squirrels, with AJ also contributing 6 aces. Kat had 4 kills and Melissa had 2 kills and an ace. The Squirrels managed to combine their soccer experience with the volleyball skills, with numerous kick saves during the match, including one kick-over the net by Kat. The Flying Squirrels' players are all teachers at Morris County Science and Technology School, which is just down the road from PowerZone.