tIt s very difficult to think of Bridgewater-Raritan High School volleyball without the last name ‘Romanak’ immediately coming to mind.
At the conclusion of the 2022 fall girls’ volleyball season, Hall-of-Fame Corey Romanak passed the keys to his storied Bridgewater-Raritan girls’ program to former player and longtime assistant Josh Everett, who won a state championship as both a Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ volleyball player (2005) and as a member of Romanak’s boys’ coaching staff (2015).
While Coach Romanak has continued to guide another powerhouse in the Panthers’ boys’ volleyball team during each subsequent spring to date, at that time four years ago, he shared a very understandable reason for stepping down as Bridgewater-Raritan girls’ volleyball head coach.
Spending more time with his family.
Over the past couple of school years, however, Coach Romanak has been able to accomplish this paramount objective in a setting familiar to a coaching tenure consisting of 386 victories, seven Somerset County Tournament championships, three Group 4 state titles, and a Tournament of Champions crown (just on the girls’ side, that is).
Watching his kids suit up as varsity volleyball players for the Panthers’ program he built.
His son: Ethan, is entering his senior year at Bridgewater-Raritan High School in 2026-27, but he has already rewritten the record books – twice, as the starting libero on his boys’ volleyball team over his first two seasons as a varsity starter for the Panthers. In fact, not only did Ethan collect 361 digs as a sophomore in 2025 to break Bridgewater-Raritan’s program record from 12 years prior.
He shattered his own record this past spring with 451 digs to cap off a successful junior campaign, which saw the Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ squad take New Jersey’s top-ranked boys’ team in Monroe Township High School to the brink of elimination before falling in a five-set thriller in last spring’s boys’ state sectional semifinals.
Even after Ethan eventually completes what will be a memorable career in a Panthers uniform this spring, that will not mark the end of Bridgewater-Raritan High School volleyball in the Romanak household.
To launch the new 2026 fall season, Coach Romanak's daughter: Riley, made her varsity debut as a sophomore outside / opposite hitter on the Panthers’ girls’ volleyball team.
And if that was not cool enough, that happened with her Hall-Of-Fame dad: an English / Language Arts teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School by day, having a front-row seat to see her play under the guidance of his former player in Everett.
“I remember playing for Corey 20 years ago before he had kids and before he was married,” reflected Everett about this incredible full-circle moment. “It means the world to me to have him here, but I also have [assistant coaches Maria Cruz and Kristin Bonczek] with me and a great team every single game that I really depend on. It’s special to have all of these wonderful people here with me, but it’s pretty surreal to see him and Riley here having coached Ethan [as a boys’ assistant coach], and now Riley is with us.”
“She is a great kid and is going to be a great player.”
If Thursday evening was any indicator, Riley Romanak will also have plenty of great moments in a Panthers uniform.
While her squad posted a swift game-one victory in its three-game match against division rival North Hunterdon Regional High School, the Lions roared back from an early five-point deficit with seven straight points to take the lead midway into game two. Looking to help her team regain control of the game, Riley then came off the bench for Bridgewater-Raritan and stationed herself behind the service line with her team down by two points.
That proved to be just the beginning for the Panthers’ game-changing stretch.
Including an ace by Riley Romanak (one ace, one dig) during an extended stint serving the ball, Bridgewater-Raritan (2-1, 2-0) went on to score six consecutive points against North Hunterdon (1-1, 1-1) to go ahead for good, and the Panthers surged to a 2-0 (25-19, 25-16) victory with 14 of the match’s final 19 points Thursday, September 3, at Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium in Bridgewater.
“I’ve literally been dreaming about playing on a team since I was a little kid,” shared by Riley Romanak after the match. “My dad used to take me to all of his games when he was coaching girls’, and now, my brother is playing on varsity as well. I want to make my family proud, and the bond that we have between this team is really special, because we are young and we have grown to be friends.”
“I really like how our whole family gets to be intertwined in volleyball all of the time, and it’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
This time, Ethan and the rest of his family were in the stands to watch his sister’s squad: a young group that is already showing championship potential.
Everett started his first two seasons as Bridgewater-Raritan’s skipper on the girls’ side with the services of Class of 2025 graduate Irene Papanastasiou at the setter position before last season’s productive stint by Class of 2026 graduate Ella Sorenson, who tallied 706 assists last fall. To begin 2026, Bridgewater-Raritan junior Brooke Krizan (two aces, 14 assists, seven digs) then became the Panthers’ third starting setter in three seasons.
That said, just like Sorenson quickly did last season in the footsteps of Papanastasiou, Krizan immediately picked up right where Sorenson had left off with both new and returning weapons around her.
“They have really set a high standard for me,” praised of her two predecessors by Krizan, whose older brother: D.J., is a senior on the Panthers’ football team that was crowned state sectional champion for the first time in program history last fall. “They really have good hands. Going in, I was really scared to try to be at least almost as good as them, but I’ve learned a lot from seeing them play all through my freshman and sophomore years.”
“I really look up to them a lot.”
Even before classes resume at Bridgewater-Raritan High School for the 2026-27 school year this Tuesday, Krizan could already find herself at the 100-assist milestone, especially with her and five of her other Bridgewater-Raritan teammates in senior Margarita Silvar (seven kills, three aces, one-half block, four digs), senior Viktoria Borodkin (three kills, three-and-a-half blocks, two digs), junior Eleana Dai (five kills), sophomore Klaudia Swider (three kills, one block, one ace, four digs), and sophomore Jackie Oram (three kills, two aces, seven digs) alone being multi-point scorers against North Hunterdon on Thursday evening.
“It’s really an honor to wear the Bridgewater-Raritan uniform,” Krizan went on to say. “The program and what it stands for is really important to us, along with us being a family and being friends with everyone on the team.”
“I really love it.”
Just three matches in, their chemistry is already very evident, but there is still plenty of time left in the regular season for it to improve even more when it matters most in late October and early November.
Even against North Hunterdon, the Panthers showcased their dangerous ability they will have throughout the season of going on big runs at any time, regardless of whether or not they are on the wrong side of a momentum swing.
Although North Hunterdon denied four straight match-point attempts in the finale game one against Bridgewater-Raritan, the Panthers closed out a 25-19 opening set victory before then jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead in game two. While the one-game advantage the Panthers had helped alleviate some of the pressure, as the Lions were one of just four teams to defeat the Panthers last year, Bridgewater-Raritan knew it was still anyone’s matchup.
North Hunterdon, which dropped the Panthers to a 1-2 record just three matches into last season with a three-set victory in Annandale, then surged ahead to a 9-7 lead in its bid to force a decisive third set. Following a timeout by the Panthers, Silvar then dealt a pair of aces before Bridgewater-Raritan knotted the score, 10-10.
After the Lions broke the tie, Riley Romanak then substituted onto the court with her team trailing 11-10 in game two.
“My mindset at first serve is trying not to be too aggressive,” Riley Romanak described of this moment.
“I just wanted to get the ball over, because you do not want to miss it and come back to the bench.”
Not only did she pass this first high-leverage test by helping the Panthers score to tie game two.
She delivered an ace as part of four more points in a row for Bridgewater-Raritan, which rounded out this stretch with a kill by Oram on a dish from Krizan to pull ahead for good and take a 15-11 lead.
“The rest of the serves, you try to be aggressive, and you want to get those points back,” Riley Romanak went on to say. “I went in just not thinking, because you don’t have time to think when you’re on the court. You just have to go in, get your serves in, and try to get your team back up again.”
“That was what was really going through my mind – not much, just that I can do it and I can get it over, take a couple of breaths, and go.”
Even though North Hunterdon battled back with three consecutive points to pull to within 15-14, the Lions got no closer.
With its lockdown defense anchored by junior libero Camille Hilton (one assist, 18 digs), who produced 490 digs last season as a sophomore, Bridgewater-Raritan exploded to its 25-16 victory with nine of the match’s final 11 points.
Also contributing to the Panthers’ victory against the Lions were freshman Arielle Wang (one kill), senior Bellina Locrotondo (one dig), and junior Autumn Sachs (one dig).
Not a bad feat early in another highly anticipated season for this young Bridgewater-Raritan squad, which according to its online rosters, has just four seniors compared to the 10 seniors it had during last year’s historic campaign.
“We’re a young team, but we’re not afraid of anything,” declared Everett of his team’s potential to go on big scoring runs at any given moment. “Our girls are playing fearless and are super aggressive no matter what the score is, but I preach just being consistent point-to-point every year, staying where your feet are, and just being composed. Our leaders on this team do that for us every day in practice and games.”
“No matter what the situation is, they’re playing hard and playing aggressive.”
Last year’s squad dropped two of its first three matches, but the Panthers responded with four straight victories before its next loss to division rival Mount Saint Mary Academy. At this point, Bridgewater-Raritan still sat at a respectable 5-3 record despite this loss on September 16, 2025, especially considering its loaded schedule with losses to returning Skyland Conference Delaware Division rivals in Hunterdon Central Regional High School, North Hunterdon, and Mount Saint Mary.
Then, the Panthers caught fire.
As part of a whopping 20 straight victories after a three-set sweep of Montgomery High School as the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA Central New Jersey, Group 4, Girls’ Volleyball Tournament, Bridgewater-Raritan not only avenged all three of those aforementioned losses with regular-season victories in straight sets.
The Panthers dropped just one set in the 2025 Somerset County Girls’ Volleyball Tournament, which Bridgewater-Raritan won for the first time under Everett’s leadership with a three-set sweep of Mount Saint Mary in the championship match. The lone set it dropped was in the semifinal round to Hillsborough, which was defeated by the Panthers for the third time in as many matches they had against each other at that point in the semifinal round of this event.
Suddenly, everything came to a screeching halt on November 5, 2025.
In what ended up being their fourth matchup of last fall against Hillsborough, which drew a state sectional quarterfinals rematch with Bridgewater-Raritan on the road as the No. 7 seed in the Panthers’ bracket, the Raiders took the first two games of the best-of-five, win-or-go-home postseason match and put Bridgewater-Raritan on the brink of elimination.
At Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium, the Panthers then answered by winning the next two games to force the decisive, 15-point fifth game. With a 15-5 victory in this set by Hillsborough, one year after the Panthers similarly defeated the Raiders on the road in the state sectional quarterfinals after dropping its first three matches to Hillsborough in 2024, Bridgewater-Raritan’s magical season came to an end in similarly crushing fashion in 2025 against its arch-rivals.
For this reason, its newcomers and veterans alike will be extra hungry for redemption in 2026.
“That day was really frustrating and devastating for all of us, but it was definitely motivational for everyone to bring it the next season,” revealed Krizan of her team’s heartbreaking end to last year. “Even though we have a lot of younger players on the team, we are still very strong and athletic, and people doubt us because we’re all so young.”
“Honestly, it’s an advantage.”
On its road in trying to repeat as Somerset County Girls’ Volleyball Tournament champion in late October – and perhaps much more, Bridgewater-Raritan has a golden opportunity in front of it given the NJSIAA’s new North/South configuration for this fall’s state tournament, which is set to begin two months from now on November 3.
Reigning Group 4 state champion and New Jersey’s top-ranked squad in Old Bridge, which was in Bridgewater-Raritan’s Central, Group 4 section last season, will look to defend its state title as a member of the South, Group 4 section.
The Panthers, however, were placed in the North, Group 4 section by the NJSIAA for the fall 2026 postseason.
Although Bridgewater-Raritan will still have fierce competition in North, Group 4 on its road to being one of just 16 qualifying teams amongst 34 teams fighting for postseason spots, the South, Group 4 section consists of three of New Jersey’s top 20 teams alone in top-ranked Old Bridge, fourth-ranked Williamstown High School, and 19th-ranked Southern Regional High School. Most notably, two of the Panthers’ chief division rivals in Hillsborough: the team that ended Bridgewater-Raritan’s campaign last year, and reigning state sectional finalist Hunterdon Central will also be amongst the 33 teams fighting for 16 playoff spots in the South, Group 4 section.
In North, Group 4, ninth-ranked Westfield High School is the highest-ranked team in the Panthers’ section.
Even though the Panthers surrendered a two-game lead before the Blue Devils completed a reverse sweep to win, 3-2 (25-21, 25-21, 14-25, 20-25, 15-9), on Wednesday evening, Bridgewater-Raritan’s newcomers in particular still produced a solid showing against a top-10 juggernaut just two matches into some of their promising varsity careers.
Especially since they already took down Hillsborough, 2-1 (25-13, 25-27, 25-18), on the road in their season opener Tuesday, September 1.
The other two ranked squads in the Panthers’ North, Group 4 section are 18th-ranked Passaic County Technical Institute, which fell in last year’s state sectional title game to the other squad meeting this criterion: reigning state sectional champion and 13th-ranked Livingston High School. Two more notable teams in Bridgewater-Raritan’s section are also members of the Skyland Conference Raritan Division: Phillipsburg High School and Watchung Hills Regional High School, which swapped places with Rutgers Preparatory School in the conference’s division breakdown.
Bridgewater-Raritan, Mount St. Mary, Hunterdon Central, North Hunterdon, Hillsborough, and Rutgers Prep therefore make up the Panthers’ Skyland Conference Delaware Division, meaning each of these six teams are guaranteed two regular-season matchups. This could also potentially extend into a third meeting in the Somerset County Tournament with local foes Mount St. Mary, Hillsborough, and/or Rutgers Prep.
Hunterdon Central and North Hunterdon will compete in the Hunterdon / Warren / Sussex County Girls’ Volleyball Tournament later this fall.
The Panthers will draw three consecutive Skyland Conference Delaware Division showdowns, starting with a 5:30 p.m. matchup Tuesday, September 8, against Mount St. Mary (2-0, 2-0) in Bridgewater.
Bridgewater-Raritan will then travel to Rutgers Prep (0-2, 0-2) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, September 10 before rounding off its first wave of five regular-season division matchup at home 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, against Hunterdon Central (1-1, 1-1).
Given the success the Panthers have already had so far during Opening Week alone, in other words, the outlook is bright for Bridgewater-Raritan with the experience everyone will gain over the next couple of months.
“I don’t worry too much about winning and losing,” concluded Everett of what lies ahead for his squad. “Last year was last year and was a special season – even the way it ended, because we battled until the last point. That’s all that matters to me. I don’t need anything to give me motivation, because I know our senior leaders are already motivated to be good, battle, and do all of those things. We don’t talk about being state champs, winning, and losing.”
“We just come in every day and work.”