caption, page 11:

Ready
Woodstock Academy libero Marissa Mayhew gets ready to serve against Guilford in last week’s Class L state volleyball semifinal. Photo by Marc Allard.


Centaurs
volleyball
stumbles in state
semifinal
It’s never easy to make the state championship match once. Imagine trying to do so three times in a row.
It’s what the Woodstock Academy volleyball team was attempting last week, but fell short this time.
The eighth-seeded Centaurs were downed in the Class L volleyball state tournament semifinals by No. 5 Guilford, 3-2, at Fitch High School.
Woodstock Academy finished its season with a 19-6 record.
 “We could have played better than what we did for sure,” said coach Adam Bottone. “Our passing was OK. It’s been better. It’s been worse, but we struggled with setting. We just couldn’t develop any consistency. It was my fear. That we would be on this big high after beating (top-seeded) Bristol Eastern. We didn’t lay an egg, but we struggled to keep the intensity up. We made a lot of unforced errors.”
Guilford put the Centaurs on notice early when it captured the first set.
The score was tied at 22 when junior middle hitter Emily Brouder got the ball back for the Indians with one of her four blocks.
Emma Appleman (25 kills) gave Guilford set point with a nice spike and, after a service error, Appleman delivered again with a kill for the 25-23 victory.
Bottone has been a tinkerer all season. In the second set, he installed sophomore Annarose Avery in as setter.
“With this team, we’ve done that a lot and it’s nothing new to them. We can make adjustments. We’ve been working on (Avery) setting in practice a lot. The tinkering is not a big deal. I don’t think it had a big impact on the result of the game,” Bottone said.
Avery had seven assists in the second set.
“It was really hard,” senior Paula Hernandez said of the setter switch, “but I think Annarose did the best she could in the situation. That was her first varsity game and she did a very good job.”
As the set improved, so did the service game.
“Our serving put us on the map. We had a lot of tough serves and (Guilford) struggled with that. We kept a lot of them in,” Bottone said.
Avery (9 service points) helped in that regard as well; she had a run of three service points as did Aurissa Boardman.
Still, the set was close at the end.
A one-hand return by Hernandez (31 kills) fell to the floor and gave the Centaurs a little breathing room, 23-21. The Indians were then called for an illegal return to give the Centaurs set point which came from Amelia Large who slapped the ball down hard from her middle hitter position for the 25-21 win.
Woodstock Academy was dominant in the third set.
It broke out to a 7-2 lead, saw Guilford rally to close within two, but went on another five-point run again powered by Avery’s service to take the 13-6 lead.
That lead just continued to expand and a Hernandez kill off an Avery (26 assists) feed gave the Centaurs the 25-14 victory and a 2-1 lead.
Woodstock Academy needed to win just one of the last two sets to advance to the state title match against Avon.
Bottone said the defense broke down.
Hernandez agreed adding that Guilford was able to target the Centaurs’ Achilles’ heel this season, the back row, and that the team was late to react on volleys.
The Centaurs owned an 8-7 lead in the fourth set when things began to go awry.
Two balls went out on unforced errors and another into the net and Guilford was suddenly on top, 10-8.
The Indians expanded the slim lead to seven, 18-11, only to see the Centaurs rally to get within range at 20-16.
Two Appleman kills and an ace by the junior and an illegal hit by Woodstock Academy gave Guilford set point at 24-16.
The Centaurs did score four points but ran out of steam and lost, 25-20, to set up the fifth and decisive set.
The Indians again jumped out early and held a 6-2 lead.
An ace by Hernandez – who had just two aces and seven service points as she was bothered by a finger she injured in the Bristol Eastern match – and a kill by the senior got Woodstock Academy back within two.
But the Centaurs never could establish momentum. The closest they could come was one point, 11-10.
But Guilford got a block from Olivia Ciocca and an ace from Eva Ott Hill to go up, 13-10, in the 15-point set.
Brouder went a little long on a kill attempt to give the Centaurs hope but that was squashed when Appleman delivered the final two decisive kills.
Hernandez finished with 36 digs in the match while Marissa Mayhew added 38 digs and 12 service points.
Boardman contributed nine kills and 11 service points.
The match marked the final game in a Centaurs uniform for Hernandez, the reigning Connecticut High School Coaches Association Player of the Year. 
She has been nominated for the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year this season.
She finished with “crazy” career numbers, according to Bottone, who has consistently said she is a once-in-a-lifetime player for a coach. Hernandez finished with 1,288 career kills (500 this year alone), 1,204 digs and 190 aces.
“I think what I will miss about her most is how she was able to make the rest of the team better. Watching her in practice and in games and seeing her understand the sport. That’s going to be the big difference. I’m not going to get anybody who gets the hits like she has had, but hopefully, we can learn by what we saw from her on the court and it will mean good results in the future for the girls,” Bottone said.
In addition, she led the Centaurs to the two state championships and the semifinals in her three seasons since coming to Connecticut from Puerto Rico after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“It’s been really fun here and really different from Puerto Rico. I would say that I played much more passionately because it’s a completely different environment and I loved it. Hopefully, I will be back in the future,” Hernandez said.
She said, despite not making the title game, this may have well been her most memorable year. “I’m going to remember this season more because of all the struggles we had and all the effort we put into each other into getting better, not necessarily in volleyball, but as people. This season has been very different from the ones in the past. It’s been a lot of mental work,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez is still undecided about her future educational plans.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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Wed. Nov. 27
Art Exhibit
N. GROSVENORDALE --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library will present Art @ the Library, Fiber & Art Compilation by Hope Barton, Pat Ferguson & Cathey LaBonte through Nov. 30. Opening Reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 13. 860-923-9779.

Art Exhibit
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will host a winter art show through the end of December at the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. 860-928-4948.

Holiday Nature Store
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will host a Holiday Nature Store from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 20 at the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. 860-928-4948.

Thur. Nov. 28
Happy Thanksgiving!

Fri. Nov. 29
Santa Coming
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Recreation Department and WINY Radio will sponsor Santa Coming to Town at 4:30 p.m. at Rotary Park. There will be candy canes, cookies and hot chocolate. The Big Ornament will be lighted and the new Santa Across the Falls will be unveiled.

Game Day
POMFRET --- The Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp in Pomfret is offering a Camper Game Day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 29, Black Friday, for kids ages 6-12. Food included. $20/child. All welcome. Preregister by Nov. 25: 860-974-1122.

Sat. Nov. 30
Nature Program
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present “Introductory Mammal Tracking Hike” at 1 p.m. starting from the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. $25 for CAS members; $35 for nonmembers. Register: 860-928-4948.

Sun. Dec. 1
Dazzle Parade
PUTNAM --- The 18th annual Holiday Dazzle Light Parade will kick off at 5 p.m. starting from Grove Street. Rain date is Dec. 8.

Concert
CHEPACHET --- The Chepachet Baptist Church’s Music at the Meeting House will present “An Old English Christmas” at 2:30 p.m. at the church on Rt. 44. All welcome. Refreshments follow. Free but a free will offering will be taken. chepachetbaptist.org.

Thur. Dec. 5
Art Exhibit
THOMPSON --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library’s Art @ the Library will present “Transitions” artwork by Anna Mancini through Dec. 28. Opening Reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 9. 860-923-9779.

Fri. Dec. 6
‘Miracle on 34th Street’
PUTNAM --- The Bradley Playhouse will present “Miracle on 34th Street” through Dec. 22. www.thebradleyplayhouse.org.

Sat. Dec. 7
Art Show
E. WOODSTOCK --- The East Woodstock Congregational Church  6th Annual Holiday Art Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Twenty-four vendors will be set up in the fellowship hall.  Lunch will be served.  Parking and admission is free.  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Bethlehem Walk Through
THOMPSON --- The Tri-State Baptist Church is holding its second annual walk through Bethlehem event between 5 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 and Dec. 8. After the tour, visitors are welcome to come inside to warm up with hot chocolate and age appropriate gifts for those 10 and under. 860-315-5180.

St. Nicholas Fair
POMFRET --- The annual Saint Nicholas Victorian Fair at Christ Church will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (snow date Dec. 14) Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Benefits outreach programs. Visit ChristChurchPomfret.org

Sugar Plum Fair
BROOKLYN --- The Federated Church of Christ in Rt. 6 will present a Sugar Plum Fair from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot donuts, soup and bread lunch and more.

Craft Fair
ASHFORD --- St. Philip’s Church on Rt. 44 will hold its 35th annual Christmas Craft Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food available.

Sun. Dec. 8
Fund-raiser
PUTNAM --- The 30th Annual Tree of Life Ceremonies will be held at 5 p.m. in 11 northeastern Connecticut towns. Benefits Hospice & Palliative Care of NE CT. Daykimball.org.

Open House/Santa
POMFRET --- The Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp Open HHHouse will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Taft Pond Road. Free. Crafts, cookies and tours. Lunch with Santa from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or photo with Santa. Tickets for Santa events: 860-974-3379 or at door.

Wed. Dec. 13
Nature Program
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will host a meteor shower watch/hike at 7 p.m. starting from the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. $5 for CAS members; $10 for nonmembers. 860-928-4948.

Sat. Dec. 14
Cookie Sale
BROOKLYN --- Our Lady of LaSalette Church on Rt. 6 will sell holiday cookies by the pound from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the church basement.

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I have been to multiple conferences or events wherein the keynote or guest speaker tells an inspirational tale and refers to a backpack and its “contents”, prompting the audience to think deeply and strategically about what they would put into the backpack, if they only had a backpack in which to pack all of their possessions in the world.
I have seen the George Clooney movie ‘Up in The Air’, and I do believe, this ‘pack your backpack speech’ originated from him, or at least the writers of the script. I certainly embrace the notion of downsizing the contents of my home, my attic and, more importantly, my purse, and, I, like many other women, have noticed over the years that we have taken this notion of downsizing even one step further to include, carrying only that which can fit IN A POCKET!
I do carry a purse, of course, and will freely admit that my purse (and my wallet) is often over packed, but I prefer, if I can, to only take with me those things I can comfortably — as in minimal bulge displayed — fit in one, or, if I am lucky enough to have two, then both, pockets.  
After all, men have been stuffing their important contents into pockets for centuries and have pants and suits and jackets and shirts and even T-shirts galore with pockets built in seamlessly.  Women’s clothing is just catching up with more options for clothing coming with pockets like yoga pants, leggings and even bridal gowns.
The point being that, for women, pockets have become a place for storing more than just our chilly hands.  Of course, however, not all pockets function the same.
A pocket built into a piece of women’s clothing needs to be sewn correctly in the sense that when a lady sits, the contents of the pocket should not spill out to the ground or onto the chair and be lost or displayed like a set of Hansel and Gretel bread crumbs.
Pockets should be deep enough and long enough to effectively hide their contents and not narrow or short so that a mere tissue, folded neatly, can be seen.  Built-in pockets should also not be so abundant in number and space, because, after all, most women will take advantage of our opportunity to fill our pockets and start to resemble warted frogs, with strange bumps all over us.  Our pockets need to be smart and effective and concealing, yet easily accessible.
I guess, then, if I had the backpack in front of me and someone said put in only the items you really need, I would opt to leave it and just fill my pockets, since I can often dwindle down the contents of what I REALLY need to just four items: Chap Stick (or lip gloss), a credit card, a tissue and my phone.  And if the building was burning down, after making sure my family was safe, (and for all those who truly know me), I would only grab… my Chap Stick!
DIG. DIG.

Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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