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Team puts
the pieces
together
It’s a question that Woodstock Academy coach Adam Bottone gets asked a lot.
Can his Centaurs volleyball team make a run to a third straight Class L volleyball state championship match?
“We don’t have a lot of experience in the grand scheme of things so I think, right now, even getting there for a third time is kind of a wish list item, even though we have Paula,” Bottone said.
Paula Hernandez, the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Player of the Year last season, is back.
But a lot of the other pieces that helped turn the Centaurs into a powerhouse with a 24-1 record are missing.
That will make it difficult even for a senior as talented as Hernandez to not only lead the Centaurs back to a state championship but also bring home the plaque this time.
Hernandez guided Woodstock Academy to the last two state championship matches.
Unfortunately, the Centaurs lost to RHAM, 3-0, two years ago and fell to Joel Barlow, 3-2, a year ago.
To make it even tough, Woodstock Academy won the first two sets of the match last year.
It’s a memory that still lingers with the players and not in a good way. “It still hurts to think about it,” senior Katie Papp admitted.
Still, the Centaurs have to believe the third time could be the charm.
Let’s start with the positive. The Centaurs have Hernandez. She finished with 493 kills last season, 370 digs and 261 service points.
The problem is they have lost a lot of the starters around her. The biggest of those losses being the two setters. Sammie Orlowski (689 assists) and Emma Green (85) have both graduated.
That leaves Bottone in a quandary. His best setter is Hernandez.
“Do I use her because I know she can run an offense and still be offensive-minded as a setter or do I try to develop someone who will not be as proficient with the set but that can, at least, get the ball up,” Bottone said.
There is a problem with the latter.
It would mean everything is being run around Hernandez.
“Last year was a great example of how one person isn’t going to make the team for you,” Bottone said.
So, it is likely that, at least at the beginning of the season, Hernandez will be the team’s setter, capable of spreading out the offense while Bottone continues to develop his hitters.
Hernandez, for her part, said she’s all in.
The team also lost Libero Maddy Gronski who provided 484 digs, 199 service points and 21 assists. Junior Marissa Mayhew will have to likely step in there. Outside hitter Natalie Low (306 kills) is also gone, another player who had a good grasp of the game.
Junior Amelia Large (45 kills) and Aurissa Boardman look to be the next outside hitters.
Bottone said while both hit the ball well, he has to work with them on defensive position, transition, approach and hitting angle.
The strength of the team, for now, rests behind the line.
“We’re a pretty good serving team,” Bottone said. “Paula can pretty much serve wherever I ask her to and she looks to me to see where I want her to serve it. I don’t pick spots for the others, but they’re giving me those flat, clean serves with no spin on the ball. Shepherd Hill (whom the Centaurs scrimmaged last week) had trouble with a lot of our serves. That’s something we need to amp up just because of the uncertainty in our lineup.”
And he has the rest of the week to figure it all out as The Academy opens Sept. 13. “It’s really tough. We were looking for good competition. RHAM and Joel Barlow didn’t want to play. I don’t know if their schedules were full but they declined,” Bottone said. “I had to reach out further and got Darien and Greenwich, Newtown is always a tough challenge and so is Division I of the Eastern Connecticut Conference. It’s a tough schedule. I wouldn’t want it any other way, but how will we match up?”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Volleyball schedule:
Fri., Sept. 13: at Coventry 5 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 14: at Greenwich 1:30 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 16: at Waterford 5:30 p.m.
Wed., Sept, 18: vs. Lyman 5:30 p.m.
Fri, Sept. 20: vs. Bacon Academy 5:30 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 23: at Conard 6 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 25 at East Lyme 5:30 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 27: vs. Fitch 5:30 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 30: at NFA 5:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 2: at Ledyard 5:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 4: vs. Killingly 5 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 7: at Griswold 5:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 9 vs. East Lyme 5:30 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 14: at Fitch 5:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 16: vs. NFA 5:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19: vs. Darien Noon
Mon., Oct. 21: at New Canaan .m.
Wed., Oct. 23: at SMSA 5:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 25: vs. Newtown 5:30 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 29: vs. Waterford 5:30 p.m.