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Bumps
Woodstock Academy junior setter Marissa Mayhew bumps a pass for the volleyball team in a recent match. (Photo by Jeremy Useted/The Woodstock Academy)
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Woodstock Academy volleyball coach Adam Bottone has learned something about this season — nothing will come easy.
Even the 3-0 wins can be difficult.
The Centaurs lost to Conard 3-1 early in the week.
Neither team finished with less than 23 points in a set and twice the sets went extra points (volleyball matches are played to 25, but teams must win a set by two points).
It was the same in E. Lyme in the middle of the week.
Woodstock Academy shutout the Vikings, 3-0, but the first two sets went extra points and the Vikings scored 23 points in the third.
Which brings us to the third match of the week.
The Centaurs ended the Fitch Falcons undefeated ways with a hard-fought 3-1 victory Sept. 27.
Woodstock Academy outlasted Fitch, 25-17, 21-25, 28-26, 25-21, in the four sets.
The victories over E. Lyme and Fitch have put the Centaurs atop the standings in ECC Division I play with a 2-0 record.
It has also brought them back to the .500 mark overall with a 4-4 record.
“I think it gave the group confidence that we can hang,” Bottone said. “When I look at everyone we have played, no team has just dominated us with the exception of Greenwich. We played badly against them. Whether it was them taking us out or whether it was because it was just the second game of the season and followed a long night against Coventry the night before. Every team we’ve played against has been good at some things and we’re good at things, we’re just making too many errors. If we can fine tune that, we’re playing with everybody probably more than people think we are. That’s a good sign.”
Fitch came in with the reputation of the team to beat in the league as it had won its first five matches including a 3-0 shutout against Norwich Free Academy.
The Falcons also featured a strong middle hitter in Honora Ryan.
“We approached it kind of how people approach playing us. You’re not going to stop Paula (Hernandez), you’re going to dig her, sometimes, but she will get her kills. We had to understand Honora was going to get hers and we had to minimize everything else,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs were successful in doing so and Hernandez got her kills. She finished with 31 to give her 960 for her career for Woodstock Academy. The senior added 33 digs.
Junior setter Marissa Mayhew had 38 assists and 19 digs.
Bottone said Mayhew is still adjusting to her new position.
“She’s up-and-down. She got called for a lot of double touches (against East Lyme). She still bumps at everything. It’s fine. It gets the ball where it needs to go. I think it’s a combination of her understanding of her understanding her positioning and where she is physically on the court in relation to the net. Also, it’s the hitters who need to better adjust to her. It’s a combination of the two and it’s a work in progress,” Bottone said.
Aurissa Boardman added 10 kills for Woodstock Academy in the victory over Fitch (5-1, 1-1).
Junior Sierra Bedard played a key role in the win over E. Lyme.
The Vikings had set point on the Centaurs in the second set, leading 24-21, when Bedard stepped behind the service line.
”We had been having troubles with our serves. We had 16 service errors versus Conard and either 10 or 11 against East Lyme which is a lot for sure. Sierra was someone who had not been serving a lot and I let her serve because others were struggling and she brought us back from the deficit and tied it at 24. She kept us in the game,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs went on to win the set, 27-25.
Senior Diana Gonzalez, who had not played in the first two sets, was called upon in the third set to serve in the third spot.
She delivered two line drive services that East Lyme failed to handle and a third one that just fell in to help the Centaurs to finish off the sweep, 25-23.
Paula Hernandez had 27 kills and 23 digs for the Centaurs against the Vikings.
Mayhew had 31 assists and 11 digs while Boardman contributed six kills and Gabby Garbutt had 11 service points.
Mayhew had 42 assists and Hernandez 39 kills but the Centaurs fell short to Conard in a non-league match to open the week.
Conard took the first two sets, 25-23 and 29-27 before the Centaurs pulled out a 25-23 victory to force a fourth set which was won by Conard, 26-24.
Katie Papp added 20 digs in the loss for the Centaurs.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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