The Hillsborough High School Girls Varsity Volleyball team lost their game to Hunterdon Central, 0-2, Tuesday October 8, held in the HHS Gym despite evident sportsmanship displayed by all players. The Raiders went on to win the next six games 2-0, culminating in a win against Bridgewater-Raritan in the Somerset County Tournament, Semifinal Round. The team succumbed to Watchung Hills in a 2-1 loss at the county finals.

Delayed by the JV game by 35 minutes, the varsity game on October 8 had already had players and the crowd tapping their feet and looking consistently at the clock. However, hopes were high since the JV team cinched a 35-27 victory. As JV moved off the court, players gave reassuring glances and thumbs ups towards the varsity team.

The Hunterdon Central Red Devils began the game by immediately racking up points. While they maintained a lead throughout both games, the Hillsborough Raiders were never too far behind. As points were being lost and gained in the matter of seconds, the crowd cheered for their teams. Hillsborough spectators shouted, “Let’s go ladies” or “Let’s go Boro” and the JV team, still in the audience, called “ACE” when Hillsborough won points.

The Hillsborough lineup consisted of three freshmen and three seniors, including captains Neha Tolpadi and Cynthia Lei. Both captains consistently gave tips to their teammates on the court and helped them through suggestions on which plays to use. Specifically, on the 11th point of the first game, the ball passed between both teams for countless minutes. It was almost lost several times, and then saved by Hillsborough, after which the crowd went wild. While the first game ended in a defeat for the Raiders at 16-25, they bounced back by quickly reassembling on the court to begin the next round.

At the start of the second game, Hillsborough once again began losing points, and the crowd began tapping their feet nervously with worried looks on their faces. When Hillsborough spectators began cheering, “Let’s go Boro” the opposing side would counteract with, “Lets go Central” and vice versa. For a majority of the game, the raiders consistently trailed behind by 2 to 3 points. 

Then, Hillsborough started gaining consecutive points closing the gap to 18-20. 

While the Raiders lost the second half at 20-25 and the game at 0-2, the team captains congratulated their effort. Lei said, “The entire team played well, and even though we didn’t win, I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished on the court.” She also said that she believed that the team had improved a lot from the beginning of the season and will continue to work harder to get even better.