Old Bridge volleyball team ready for GMC, state tourneys BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer The Old Bridge High School boys volleyball team returned to its winning ways on Monday with a victory over South Brunswick that coachAndrew Hopman believes will help propel the team down the stretch. The Knights are 11-6 overall, but had dropped four of its last six matches, including losses to powerful Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) rivals St. Joseph's and East Brunswick. Old Bridge also lost a pair of non-conference matches to Southern Regional and West Windsor South, respectively. "We lost to some very good teams, although I didn't think we played particularly well against West Windsor South," Knights coachAndrew Hopman said. "The South Brunswick match was close (27-25 and 25-23), but our guys got the job done and, hopefully, that will help us get our momentum back." The coach noted that middle hitter Davis Obi has been playing very well of late. The 6-2 senior has been a dominant force in the middle and leads the team with 131 kills and 36 blocks. "If we get him the ball, it's almost a guaranteed point," Hopman added. Middle hitter Dan Shapiro has also been a force. The versatile 6-3 junior leads the team with 91 digs and has contributed 115 kills, 17 aces and 16 blocks. Left outside, hitter Ken Lisk has been solid as well with 104 kills and 11 blocks to his credit. Matt Guzzo has been quietly effective, accumulating an amazing 271 assists and 25 aces to lead the team in both categories. The senior setter also has 54 digs. Matt Totten and Will Queen have played well while sharing time, and Pat Cole and Ankit Patel have scored 13 aces apiece as left outside hitters. Mike Christian, who has 87 digs, and Patel have both played well defensively. Hopman praised senior Michael Totten, who provides depth off the bench. "He has a tough role because we ask him to come in and play defense," the coach said. "But whenever I call on him he does a good job." Despite his team's recent slide, Hopman said he's confident his Knights will get back on track. "We've had a good year and we've just went through a tough time, but those losses came against some top-notch teams and our guys played pretty well," the coach said. "The South Brunswick win will help us get our confidence back as we head into the GMC and state tournaments. The GMC tourney is slated to start on May 13. Old Bridge has also qualified for the NJSIAA Central South IV Tournament, which starts the following week. TheKnightswere scheduled to square off against J.P. Stevens yesterday and will visit St. Joseph's this afternoon for a quadmatch that also includesCBAandCherryHillEast. Tomorrow Old Bridge will travel to Piscataway before returning home on Saturday to host a quad match at 10 a.m. that includes Williamstown, Sterling and Vernon.