The season is in full swing and with four complete weeks on the books perhaps now is a good time to ask if there's been any major surprises or disappointments.

Quite honestly, the answer is not really. Things have pretty much gone the way most area coaches thought they would. The American Division of the Olympic Conference, as expected, is shaping up to be a wild affair and a division champ probably won't be crowned until the final week of the season.

Already, every team in the division has lost at least one match. Washington Township was the latest team to fall when Eastern won a tough fought five-game match on Monday at Eastern.

"We just picked the wrong day to come out flat," Township coach Frank Consiglio said of the loss. "But those things happen."

Cherry Hill West coach Scott Sweeten predicted a couple of weeks ago that he would be surprised if any team in the division would go through the season unbeaten. "The teams in our division are so equally matched I thought it would be so difficult to go through the division without a loss," Sweeten said. "Us, Cherry Hill East, Eastern and Washington Township are all so competitive and I wouldn't be surprised to see Pennsauken win a couple of matches."

Sweeten's team took a major step toward the division title Wednesday when the Lions beat Eastern for the second time this season.

Trying to figure out this division could drive you a bit crazy.

It would be a major surprise if Williamstown doesn't win the Patriot Division. The Braves are still unbeaten in the division and already own a 3-1 win over second place Moorestown and has also beaten third-place Clearview 3-1.

Collingswood gained the upper hand in the National Division with recent wins over Pennsauken Tech and Sterling. The Panthers are also quietly putting together a very good season. They have lost two matches. One to Southern Regional, one of the top five teams in the state. And their other loss came at the hands of Washington Township.

Season ends

When the Woodrow Wilson program forfeited its second match of the season last week to Clearview it signaled the end of the season for the Tigers.

The program has been fighting the numbers problem all season and when the team dropped to five active members, athletic director Joe McColgan decided to pull the plug on the program for the season.

"We have been struggling with turnout all season," McColgan said. "After the second forfeit I decided we had enough and it wasn't fair to the other teams in the Olympic Conference."

McColgan said he has sent a letter to the conference indicating Wilson has decided to forfeit the remainder of the season. "I just couldn't see dealing with this from match to match," McColgan said. "So in fairness to everyone, I thought it would be in everyone's best interest to suspend the rest of the season."

Strange introduction

St. Augustine coach Scott Shollenberger has been playing competitive volleyball himself for a long time.

He was introduced to the sport by his father-in-law Vladimor Kirey back in the 1970s.

"He was quite a player himself," Shollenberger said of his father-in-law. "He got me interested and I have been playing ever since."

Shollenberger played club volleyball for two years while attending Drexel University in the late 1970s. And he has played the sport in this area for a long time.

"I can remember going with my father-in-law, my wife Helen and my brother-in-law Nick Kirey up to Collingswood to play in a league every week," Shollenberger said. "When we first started playing in Collingswood, we played in a church basement. We had a lot of fun back in those days."

He has continued to play competitive volleyball up until this year.

"For years we had a league in Vineland that was a very good one," Shollenberger said. "But this year the league had only three teams so we are not playing this year. But I expect to continue playing competitive volleyball as long as my body holds up."

He has passed interest in the game to his son Kendric who is now a starter on the St. Augustine team.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," Shollenberger says. "Must be in the blood lines."

Moehlmann watch

Veteran Cherry Hill East coach Karl Moehlmann is closing in on a significant coaching milestone.

Moehlmann, the only coach in Cherry Hill East history, is closing in on 200 victories. That would make him the first area coach to reach that milestone.

He entered the season with a remarkable 189-24 record. With a 6-2 record so far this season, Moehlmann's record stands at 195-26.

Moehlmann is the only area coach to have won a state title in volleyball. His Cougars' won three straight state titles from 1996 to 1998.

In the 10-year history of the Olympic Conference, Moehlmann's teams have won nine championships. The only time East hasn't shared or won a title came in 2001 when Washington Township won the American Division championship.

Cutoff date

Cutoff date for the state-wide tournament is May 11. Teams with a .500 or better record as of May 11 qualify.

The tournament gets underway May 20 and ends with the state championship on June 4.