Old Tappan is at it again

HILLSDALE - Old Tappan swept rival Pascack Valley in straight sets (25-17, 25-15) in an early season battle of the unbeatens Friday night. The win was Old Tappan’s 29th in a row, after last season’s 25-0 campaign.

“We’ve turned the page,” Old Tappan coach Melissa Landeck said of the team’s 4-0 start. “Every year is a different year. We’re proud of last year’s accomplishments obviously but this is the time for 2025 and see what we can do this year. We’re about staying in the moment, what’s in front of us, what we have to prepare for, taking it one game at a time. Not looking too far ahead and certainly not resting by looking back.”     

The Golden Knights never trailed in the first set, and led by as many as 10, 17-7, after back-to-back kills by the Whaley sisters, senior Julia and sophomore Nadine, who finished with 3 kills and 1 block. Julia Whaley led all scorers with 11 kills in the match. She said she is prepared to lead this year’s team. 

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” she said, “especially after coming off such an incredible season. It’s not going to be easy - we have a big target on our back - but being a senior I need to lead the team and it’s going to be really exciting. I’ve been playing volleyball for a long time so I just have to go out there and do what I know I can do. Being confident helps a lot. We’ve been working. We have a bunch of new people so we’re having to trust new players. With all the new rotations we’re getting used to expecting the unexpected.”

Old Tappan got scoring from five different players which helped keep the Panthers defense off balance. Julia Whaley praised junior setter Joley Giordano for finding the right people to set.

“Joley is doing a great job of keeping the other teams on their toes,” Julia Whaley said. “Not knowing who we are going to set [is key] because if you’re setting the same person the other team can set up and cheat. Joley is doing a great job of mixing it up and it helps our team a lot.”

“I think it’s good that Julia switched to outside from middle - it’s been a great adjustment,” said Giordano. “Lexi (Alexa Caunedo) is a sophomore and she’s learning. Gaby [Paltag] is a senior and she’s always available, calling loudly. Nadine [Whaley] is always available too. They’re all strong hitters and it’s crazy how they have all contributed because we’ve just started playing together two weeks ago.”

Valley took its only lead in the match, 4-3, in the second set on a service ace by senior setter Celia Torres. She added 5 digs and distributed 10 assists.  

Later in the set Knights junior libero Desi Malafis reeled off 6 consecutive service winners, including 3 aces to improve Old Tappan’s advantage from 16-11 to 22-11.

“I always take a deep breath before I serve,” Malafis said. “I don't think I could get it over without taking a deep breath. I make sure I’m behind the line. I also have motivation when people are watching me get it over and in. Coach gives us numbers of where to serve it so I just follow that.”

A thunderous kill by Julia Whaley halted a 4-2 rally by the Panthers, ending the second set and the match.

“Julia can really put it down,” Malafis said. “It starts from the back row giving us a nice free ball. Our middles always come out and they are strong. I feel like we’re still trying to find our chemistry out there but this is one of the best games we’ve played so far. We’re all starting to trust each other. Coming off a 25-0 season we lost some pretty good players but I feel like we’re still as good.”

Valley suffered its first loss to fall to 2-1, but they got contributions from several players. Senior libero Maddy Romero scooped 11 digs, sophomore outside hitter Gianna Siller had a team-high 5 kills and added 3 digs and senior outside hitter/middle Riley Hirsch contributed 2 kills and 6 digs.

Landeck had high praise for Paltag (5 kills) and senior defensive specialist Adrianna Bryan (6 digs, 1 ace), saying, “they both had very good games today.”

“We have 15 players that show up to practice every day and work hard,” said Landeck. “We have to figure out who we are in different aspects and roles. We’re still a work in progress, an unfinished product. We’re just taking it one day at a time and trying to be a little bit better than we were the day before. We’re keeping it that simple. I think today we had a strong showing defensively, blocking, serving. We were pretty good today.”

“Today was the best we’ve ever played,” added Giordano, who had a great match, dishing 17 assists, scooping 3 digs, blocking a shot and adding a kill. “Even in practice we haven’t played this well. Everyone’s connecting together.”