The Cherry Hill East program finds itself in unchartered waters this season.

Since volleyball began in South Jersey, the Cougars have always been among the elite of the area.

When the Olympic Conference formed in 1994, Cherry Hill East immediately became the dominant program. The Cougars won championships the first six years.

Cherry Hill East also won or shared the title in 2002 and 2003. Also during that span, the Cougars won three state championships and remain the only South Jersey program to have won a state title.

Last year, the Cougars went 14-6 and were eliminated in the first round of the state tournament. This year has been a big struggle for the program. A mini win streak recently helped the program qualify for the state tournament that gets under way May 24.

So what has happened this year?

"A couple of things are different this year," veteran coach Karl Moehlmann said. "The main reason is we just don't have the kind of experience we have had in the past. In the past most of our kids have played club volleyball and gained a lot of experience and made things a lot easier."

Moehlmann says his present group of seniors have little experience at the varsity level.

"We have been forced to use a lot of our younger players," Moehlmann says. "Plus, don't forget the teams in this area are a lot more competitive than they used to be."

Moehlmann does see some encouraging signs for the future however.

"Our best player Ben Chung is only a junior," Moehlmann says. "And our junior varsity has lost only two matches this season. So I'm confident we are going to be OK next year." Coaching the boys

When Barbara McBrearty took over the coaching reins at Washington Township she joined Pennsauken Tech's Rhonda Ritz and Camden County Tech's Laura Russo as the only three women coaching boys' teams.

But coaching the boys is nothing new for McBrearty as she was an assistant for eight years, and during that span built a 110-10 junior varsity record. She started the program for the girls nine years ago and is still directing the program.

"My coaching style for the boys is just the same as it is for the girls," McBrearty says. "You just try to enforce the basics. So to me it is the same."

McBrearty does note one big difference.

"When you yell at the girls they tend to withdraw," she says. "When you yell at the boys they tend to become more aggressive. The girls just seem to be much more emotional."

She inherited a program this year that had only one experienced varsity player.

"We have struggled most of the season," she admits. "But the kids I'm coaching this year, I have grown with them and they have grown with me. We are making the state tournament, so that's encouraging."

McBrearty is encouraged by the future outlook for the program.

"We have a lot of young players that are getting experience this year," she says. "So I kind I like are chances over the next couple years." Streak ends

When Camden beat Woodrow Wilson 2-0 on May 11 it marked the first time the Panthers had won a match on the court since beating Pennsauken on May 1, 2001. The Panthers did receive two forfeit wins over Woodrow Wilson in both 2003 and 2004.

Aside from the forfeit wins, the Panthers had lost 63 straight matches before its win on the court over Wilson on May 11. Congratulations to the Camden program for hanging in there. Tournament qualifiers

Tuesday was the cutoff date to qualify for the state tournament. Teams with a .500 or better qualified for the tournament.

South Jersey will be represented by nine teams for the tournament that gets under way this Tuesday.

Cherry Hill East, Cherry Hill West, Clearview, Collingswood, Eastern, Moorestown, Pennsauken Tech, Washington Township and Williamstown are the area teams that have qualified.

Remember, unlike the girls, the boys have just one state-wide tournament and there is just one overall champion. South Jersey has not won a state championship since Cherry Hill East won in 1998.