Girls were 26-2 in 2025, fell in sectional battle to eventual S.J. champions
Editor’s note: See related story on the Caper Tiger volleyball team at starwavenewspaper.com.
OCEAN CITY — Last season the Ocean City High School girls volleyball team just missed making it to the South Jersey Group III finals.
They don’t plan to miss it this year.
The Red Raiders compiled a 26-2 record over the 2025 season, including 12-0 in the Cape-Atlantic League National Division, then lost to eventual South Jersey champion Toms River South in a grueling five-set match in the sectional semifinals.
The team lost only one senior to graduation and is back with a powerful lineup.
“I have quite a few seniors this year, but everyone’s returning from last year that was on the court. It’s the same girls that made our team so great last year, so we’re really excited for the season,” head coach Jillian Garza said before last week’s 2-0 win over Lower Cape May Regional High School.
“It’s going to be a great season,” Garza said.
The coach’s lineup includes the senior-sophomore sister tandem of Bradee Boyd and Rylee Boyd. “They are like a very impressive duo. They’re very fun to watch. Rylee’s a setter and Brady’s an outside hitter, but honestly, they’re amazing athletes that I can put them anywhere on the court and they can perform, so that’s exciting.”
Her other captains are seniors Gabby Erace, the libero, and Brynn Williams. Her two middles, also seniors, are Charli Elberson and Grace Preston. Senior Ava Aristizabal is another senior middle. “I have a lot of great girls, a lot of great athletes,” the coach said.
“The girls want it,” she said of the South Jersey championship. “That’s their goal and that’s what they’re talking about every day.”
Garza noted this is the first year her team has been invited to preseason tournaments, a high school showcase at Atlantic Cape Community College (they won) and a tournament for Group III and Group IV schools (“we held our own”).
“We’re competing against these Group III and IV schools, and it’s an incredible challenge for my girls,” the coach said, adding the tough competition prepares them for the season.
“Honestly, we’re just hoping to build our connection as a team and continue to just like push ourselves no matter like the outcomes of the games,” Erace said. “We’re also hoping to win,” she added with a smile.
“I think that we’ve been really working hard in the offseason together, which has helped us a lot, especially with Rylee and Bradee,” she said. “I think it’s just going to go really well for us. And we’ve just been doing a lot of team bonding so I think that that has helped overall too.”
“My goal this season is for us to go farther than what we did last year and to just continue to compete with all the other teams that we play,” Williams said. “We have a bit of a harder schedule this year, so we want to continue to just win and do as best as we can.”
The harder schedule, she added, “will help us out in the postseason and we’ll be more prepared and we’ll have more momentum for it. I think Bradee and Rylee really brought our team together. We have a lot of well-rounded players on our team and we all just come together really well, and we really support each other off and on the court.”
Bradee Boyd said she wants to help grow the program. She and her sister transferred to Ocean City last year. Before her junior year was finished, she topped 1,000 kills in her high school career to that point.
“Obviously we want to win. We really want to go out with a bang, but I also feel like growing the program and just representing South Jersey,” Boyd said. “I just feel like representing our area and just putting us on the map, that we can compete with these North Jersey teams where there’s more clubs and everything.”
Boyd said her priority is the team, but she does want to keep adding to her statistics. After sitting out games to start the season because of the transfer, Boyd managed 311 kills, 166 service points and 121 aces. She was surpassed in service points by her sister with a team-leading 189; Rylee also had 350 assists, tops for the Red Raiders. (Williams had 188 service points, 115 kills and 153 digs. Erace led the team with 215 digs while adding 104 service points. Junior Brooke Sutor had 95 kills and 148 service points in her sophomore season.)
“I definitely like to keep going with (those stats) and just growing, making connections with my teammates and just continuing to better myself and working harder, not just for myself, but for my team, too,” Boyd said.
“Having spent a year together already, I think just only helps us,” Boyd said of the team chemistry. “I think we’re all on the same page with what we want to do this year. It’s just a really great group of like-minded kids who all want to work hard. I think it’s really something that’s really great to be a part of.”
The Red Raiders beat Lower Cape May Regional High School in their season opener, 25-14, 25-19. Look for them at home at 4 p.m. Thursday against Cedar Creek, the only CAL team that beat them last year. The Red Raiders are on the road for three games after that and back home against Our Lady of Mercy Academy at 5:15 p.m. Sept. 17.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel and Cape May Star and Wave staff
