OCEAN CITY — A milestone went unnoticed Saturday during the South Jersey Group III sectional volleyball playoff game at Ocean City High School.
Somewhere in the midst of the battle between the Red Raiders and Toms River South girls, Bradee Boyd leaped up and spiked the ball for a point for Ocean City.
It was the 1,000th kill she has recorded in her three years of high school play.
A few weeks earlier, Boyd celebrated a 1,000-kill personal milestone, the number of kills she earned from her play in eighth grade through that point in her junior year in high school.
This time there wasn’t a celebration because the competition was so fierce as the teams fought for the chance to compete for the South Jersey sectional crown.
Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, they fell 3-2 in the five-set match to Toms River South. (See related story.)
When Boyd hit her personal milestone Oct. 14, she knew she had about 200 kills to go to match that number in high school alone, but the Red Raiders were quickly approaching playoffs with their 19-1 record.
“It’s really cool,” Boyd said Sunday afternoon. “I didn’t even know during the game that I hit it. And after the game, coach (Jillian) Garza called me and told me. It was just a really special moment because I had been hoping to hit during playoffs and I wasn’t sure.
“But when she called me and told me, I was really excited. It was just a really sweet moment,” Boyd said. “I’m just really grateful to all my teammates and my little sister who set me and my coaches who helped me get there.”
Garza said Boyd entered the game needing 20 kills to hit the mark. She got 34.
“Bradee’s 1,000 career kills as a junior is impressive and amazing. She works incredibly hard and deserves all the accolades she gets,” Garza said.
For the season, Boyd had 311 kills, an impressive number as it is, but even more impressive because she sat out the first 10 games of the season as a transfer student athlete. She played for Calvary Christian in Florida as a sophomore and Mainland Regional High School in Linwood as a freshman.
When Boyd talks about her freshman sister, Rylee, setting for her, that was accurate for the season and that last playoff game. Rylee had 36 assists in the Toms River South game and led the team with 350 for the season, to go with her 189 service points, 99 aces, 117 digs and 91 kills of her own.
Boyd said playing with her sister makes everything even more special.
“It’s something that I can’t even explain how happy and excited I was every game and just getting to warm up and pepper with her. It was just so special to see my little sister getting to be a leader and getting to have a big role on a high school team,” she said. “That is something I will never forget.”
Bradee finished the season with 168 service points, 121 aces and 104 digs.
Junior teammate Brynn Williams 115 kills, 188 service points, 68 aces and 153 digs and sophomore Brooke Sutor had 95 kills, 148 service points, 59 aces and 10 blocks. (Sutor celebrated her 100th career ace during the game.)
Junior Gabrielle Erace led the team in digs with 215 and fellow junior Grace Preston led in blocks with 16.
“Before Bradee stepped on the court, we were 9-1,” the coach said. “When Bradee was on the bench, she was constantly finding ways to make the team better. She encouraged the girls, ran drills, practiced hard every day and was a positive light for the entire team.
“Once Bradee stepped out onto the court for her first game, she immediately brought up the level of play for the rest of the team. The girls were getting more digs because they knew they needed a good pass for Bradee to get a good set,” Garza said. “My hitters were hitting harder. They all clicked and the chemistry was unmatched. They celebrated hard and pumped each other up after every play.”
Boyd said her coach told her how many more kills she needed before the end of her junior season.
“That kind of fueled my goal a little bit and gave me hope, like you can hit this. And then before every game they would tell me, ‘Let’s keep working toward this goal.’ I think that really helped me reach it,” Boyd said. “I’m really glad that I had coaches who wanted me to get it for me.”
Boyd was sad her team lost Saturday, but not when she looked back at the season as a whole.
“Having a historic season like that and making school history with the (Cape-Atlantic League championship) and our record and all the things, even being a three-year program, it’s hard to be upset about a loss like that,” she said. “Obviously, we wanted our season to keep going. We wanted to keep pushing for the state finals, but we really worked hard and I think we rose to the occasion.”
Boyd said the girls continued to play for each other throughout the match.
“It’s easy to be proud of our team and my teammates,” she said. “Even though it didn’t go the way we wanted, I’m still grateful and my heart is full for such a good season.”
She is already looking forward to next year.
“A loss like that ending our season only fires us up and gets us more excited for next season and wants to push us,” Boyd said. “We’re going to have a lot of seniors next year and I think we’re all going to want to … leave it all out there and have an overall really special and successful season.”
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
