North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week blazing a trail on and off the court
Reyna Sutuj began playing volleyball in eighth grade. At that point in time, she admits, “I had horrible hands. I could not set a ball.”
Now five years into her career, the Cliffside Park senior has helped set the table for a 7-0 start to the season.
Sutuj averaged 20 assists in four matches to become the first Red Raiders girls volleyball player to be named The Record Athlete of the Week since Karen Fontana in 1985.
“Growing up, I was interested in volleyball,” Sutuj said. “But in middle school, we didn’t really have a good program, because we didn’t have proper nets or anything. So, I was just too scared to try it until my eighth-grade year.”
That’s when classmate Nawal Zubi encouraged her to give it a shot. She realized that at 5-foot-1, a back-row position was her best option.
“But,” Sutuj noted, “we didn’t really have enough setters freshman year. And then, my freshman coach asked, ‘What do you girls want to be, just so we can set lineups?’ In the moment, I was like, ‘I would like to be a setter’.”
She is now in her second year as a starter. Both she and Zubi, a middle hitter, are among the returning Red Raiders to earn all-league honors last fall.
This season, Sutuj opened with a career-high 23 assists (since surpassed) in a 2-1 victory over Paramus Catholic.
“Everyone just played phenomenal throughout all three sets,” she said. “It was super hard-earned, and we were all excited.”
Cliffside Park has fielded strong teams in the past and is coming off back-to-back records of 15-11 and 16-10. Yet the program’s last 20-win season came in the 1990s, and it has not captured a league title this century.
Sutuj seems to be the right person to lead the Red Raiders, as she is also a trailblazer at home. She is the first in her family to be born in the U.S. after her parents and older brother emigrated from Guatemala more than 20 years ago.
Her favorite class at Cliffside Park is AP Biology, and she aspires to a career in medicine.
“I come from a family of immigrants, and they’ve all kind of had jobs like either nail care or roofing – they [my parents] weren’t really given any opportunities,” Sutuj said. “So, I kind of took that upon myself to try to aim for something higher in my life.”
Attending college is on her radar. Playing volleyball at the next level is a question mark… for now.
“I think at the college level, the girls are much taller than me,” Sutuj said. “Being taller definitely has its benefits… but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. If I were given the opportunity, I would like to take it.”
Reyna Sutuj
Sport: Volleyball
School: Cliffside Park
Class: Senior. Age 17
Accomplishment: In helping the Red Raiders to a 7-0 start, Sutuj put up 80 assists in four matches. The 5-foot-1 setter also chipped in 12 digs and 5 aces.
Also nominated: Amanda Cicero of Park Ridge, Olivia Passero of Hawthorne, Sophia Lara of Hasbrouck Heights, and Sarah Gomez of Dwight Morrow for soccer; and Erin Fahy of Cresskill and Bella Foster of Fort Lee for volleyball.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Female Athlete of the Week: Reyna Sutuj, Cliffside Park
