West Milford boys volleyball rallies for first win of season

Andrew Spagnuolo collected 34 assists, five digs and one ace, Andrew Nowicki totaled 15 kills, 15 digs and two aces and Grayson VanDerStad added 15 kills, eight digs and one ace as the West Milford High boys volleyball team rallied for its first victory of the season - a 21-25, 25-22, 25-20 decision over College Achieve Paterson on Friday, May 1 in west Milford.

Aiding the decision for the Highlanders were Michael Gonzalez Jr. (12 digs, one kill), Rick Steinman (one kill, one block), Jael Hobel (three kills, one block, one ace), Nick Blakesly (two digs) and Jake Harris (three kills, two aces).

West Milford (1-11) are scheduled to play host to Lakeland on Thursday, May 7, at 4:30 p.m.

Baseball

Conner Thompson pitched a five-inning no-hitter with 11 strikeouts, four walks and one earned run and Chase Tyburczy went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, a stolen base and five RBIs, Blake Tyburczy was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run and Charlie Kling singled, walked and drove in two runs to power West Milford to an 11-1 victory over Mahwah on Friday afternoon in Mahwah.

The Highlanders (12-3), who have now won a season-high eight straight, were seeded fourth for the Passaic County Tournament and were slated to host fifth-seeded Pompton Lakes on Saturday, May 9.

Softball

The fifth-seeded Lady Highlanders came up just short in an 8-5 loss to fourth-seeded Pompton Lakes in the quarterfinal round of the Passaic County Tournament on April 28 in Pompton Lakes.

West Milford (9-7) had advanced with a 17-5, five-inning second round victory over 12th-seeded Paterson Charter on Monday, April 27.

Izzy Gibson went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, five RBI and two runs, Rylie Quazza went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, three RBI and three runs, Emma Gibson added two singles, a double, two RBI and four runs and Lydia Paget walked twice, singled and scored four times to pace the offense.

The Lady Highlanders (9-7) was scheduled to host Nutley on Thursday, May 7, at 4:15 p.m.

Boys Lacrosse

Dean Lombardo (two goals), Cole Riley (two goals), Ryan Czeczuga (one goal, two assists), Brendan Coscia (one goal, 10 ground balls, won 12-of-15 face-offs) and goalie Tyler Acanfrio (13 saves) led West Milford to a 6-5 victory over Mount Olive on April 29 in Mount Olive.

The Highlanders (8-2) were seeded first for the Passaic County Tournament and were scheduled to play host to Clifton in the quarterfinal round on Monday, May 4.

Girls Lacrosse

Senior Sarah Benowitz matched her career-high with five goals along with one assist to steer West Milford to a 6-5 victory over Bergen Tech on Thursday, April 30 in Paramus.

The Lady Highlanders were also led by Sydney Brock (four goals), Julia Plewa (three goals, one assist), Aleka Ljusic (two goals, two assists), Addyson Seidner (two goals, one assist, four draw controls), Emmeline Kreutzer (five ground balls, four forced turnovers) and goalie Allie Rockey (six saves).

West Milford (2-7) was seeded seventh for the Passaic County Tournament and set to play at second-seeded Lakeland in the quarterfinal round on Monday night, May 4 at 7 p.m.