Pleasantville, which had a "worst-to-first-round" season, was one of the most improved teams in the state.

After going 1-16 overall in their inaugural season, the Greyhounds went 14-5 this year while qualifying for the state tournament.

"I was very happy with our season," Pleasantville coach Jim Bucko said. "The girls had a great year."

The Greyhounds, seeded No. 23 in Group 2, had No. 10 River Dell on the ropes Monday before losing their first round match 2-0 (25-10, 25-21).

"We were up 8-0 in the first game before the momentum switched. Then in the second game, we played them tight all the way through," Bucko said. "They just had more experience and were playing at a higher level. But I'm proud of the way we hung in there. Our team showed a lot of character."

All of Pleasantville's top players, except senior Jordean Matthews, will be back next year. They are juniors Amy Lapaix, Nathalie Cabrera, Jalessa Coleman and Cathy Rivera-Mendez, sophomores Aminah Davis, Karishma Patel and Adrian Mobley and freshman Gretchel Vila.

The Greyhounds finished the season 8-2 in the Freedom Division, two games behind 10-0 Our Lady of Mercy Academy.

The Villagers won their first round Group 1 tournament game Tuesday over St. Elizabeth 2-0 (25-21, 25-17).

OLMA received seven kills and two aces from senior hitter Judy Millili, eight service points, three aces and five kills from senior hitter Kendrea Martin, 13 assists and one ace from senior setter Lisa BiFulco and seven service points from junior Jeanne Casagrande. State Group 3

After rebounding to tie the match 1-1, No. 14 Moorestown needed a huge game-three comeback to sneak past No. 19 Holy Angels 2-1 (23-25, 25-19, 27-25).

"We were down 9-1 in the third game," Moorestown coach Scott Atkinson said. "Then Devon Johnston served 10 points in a row and we never trailed again. Devon has a great jump serve. She was on and they couldn't stop her."

In the third game, Moorestown took a 26-25 lead when Holy Angels served into the net. The Quakers then used a block by junior Kara Burnham to clinch the match.

"Kara made a great block," Atkinson said. "It was such a great character win for the team."

Burnham finished the match with four blocks and four kills. The Quakers also received 24 assists and two aces from senior setter Meghan Morrissey and 11 kills from freshman Chris Velott. State Group 4

No. 28 Cherokee had No. 5 Cherry Hill East down, but the Cougars proved not to be out in Tuesdays 2-1 (18-25, 25-16, 25-13) first round comeback win over the Chiefs.

"We knew we had to play flawless volleyball to beat them. In the first game we did that," Cherokee coach Patrick Senft said. "We came out with the same level in the second game, but the match slowly got away from us."

First year Cherokee received six kills, 10 digs and two blocks from junior Ashley Constantino, 19 assists and one ace from junior setter Alex Cifelli, four blocks from sophomore middle Maura Gillespie, two aces, six kills and five digs from freshman Michelle Ferrari and seven service points and three digs from senior Kaitlin Hiserote. Anna Streicher, filling in for junior Kelly Chambers, had five blocks. The Chiefs also received contributions from freshmen Rachel Emig, Maureen Smith, Liz Steck and Cynthia Twarowski.

No. 15 Eastern advanced through the first round with Tuesday's 2-0 (25-16, 25-22) win over No. 18 East Brunswick.

The Vikings received 12 assists and two kills from senior Shannon Leyden, 15 assists from senior Katy Nowicki, five kills from junior Robyn Nwankwo, four kills and one block from junior Kim Yau, five kills and one block from senior Kim Karper and six blocks, five kills and one ace from senior Jessica Bauer. Travel issues

Winslow Township had to travel 105 miles, one way, to play a Group 4 first-round match with Hackensack Wednesday. The Eagles lost the match in just 35 minutes and, thanks to traffic, spent nearly five hours on the road that day.

With more schools adding the sport, here's hoping the NJSIAA can create sectional brackets in the future to build rivalries and reduce difficult travel situations.