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Hoping for
trip to states
The Woodstock Academy volleyball team is back in the final four in the Class L state tournament.
The eighth-seeded Centaurs got past No. 1 Bristol Eastern, 3-2, Nov. 16 in a quarterfinal match.
The Centaurs move on to meet No. 8 Guilford in a semifinal.
“We are 100 percent ready for this,” said Woodstock Academy coach Adam Bottone. “They have the mindset that this is ripe for the picking. I don’t think a lot of people, after what we lost last year, expected us to be here and I think the girls are using that as the motivation to prove that this program is here and here to stay.”
The Centaurs need just a win over the Indians to advance to their third consecutive Class L state championship match which will be played Nov. 23.
The Centaurs have lost in their previous two appearances.
“(Guilford) has a good outside hitter, who is a phenomenal setter in club ball, but they have her on the outside and she’s good. I hear their libero is solid, too,” Bottone said.
The odd games were good for the Centaurs (19-5) against the Lancers Nov. 16.
Woodstock Academy took a 10-7 lead early in the first set.
They extended that to 16-9 on their way to a 25-19 victory.
But like they had in their second round match with Joel Barlow, the Centaurs suffered a setback in the second set.
Bristol Eastern got out of the blocks quickly and poured it on, building a 19-11 lead.
Woodstock Academy scored seven of the next eight points to cut the deficit to two, 20-18, and tied it at 21.
Unfortunately, the energy expended was not worth the effort as Bristol Eastern prevailed, 25-23, to even up the best-of-five match.
The Centaurs turned the tables in the third set.
The two teams battled throughout with Bristol Eastern again taking a 20-18 lead. But Woodstock tied it at 23 and went on to win, 25-23.
The Lancers battled the Centaurs close throughout the fourth set and it was tied at 23 and 25. Bristol Eastern pulled out the win in overtime, 28-26, to set up the decisive fifth set.
The set was tied at 10 before Kileigh Gagnon went on a service run for Woodstock Academy to make it, 13-10.
The Centaurs were up, 13-12, when the Lancers took advantage of a miscommunication in the Woodstock defense and the ball dropped between two players to tie the final set at 13.
The Centaurs got the side out on a Lancers’ serve and middle hitter Amelia Large put the finishing touches on things. She got the ball down in a battle at the net and the Lancers were called for four hits to give Woodstock Academy the match point.
Paula Hernandez had 19 kills and 43 digs while Paige Audet added 26 assists in the win.
Centaurs prevail in opening rounds
The serves were not overpowering. But they were still very effective.
Woodstock Academy senior Diana Gonzalez stepped behind the service line at the perfect time Nov. 14 and helped the Centaurs to a 3-1 win over Joel Barlow in a Class L state tournament second-round match.
Down 2-1 in the fourth set, Joel Barlow forged an 18-16 lead over the Centaurs. But Hernandez (17 kills, 33 digs) got a key kill to get the ball back in Woodstock’s hands.
Gonzalez’s first two serves floated over the net and into the back corner and both were not returned.
Her third serve was sent into the net by Barlow. Her fourth even brought a smile to Bottone’s face. It hit the tape at the top of the net hard and just trickled over, the Falcons could not get to it.
Gonzalez would get one more service point and gave the Centaurs a 22-18 lead.
The Centaurs did let Joel Barlow creep back in, but prevailed, 25-23, when a Barlow return drifted out.
“I didn’t expect it to be easy, not by any means,” Bottone said. “There is a history here.” The Centaurs (18-5) downed the Falcons in the semifinals in 2017, 3-0.
Joel Barlow returned the favor last season when it rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to win the Class L title match, 3-2.
The first two sets saw each team catch fire late.
Woodstock used a 9-3 run to put the Falcons on the brink at 24-16.
Joel Barlow did rally for the next three points, but a service error resulted in a 25-19 win for the Centaurs.
Barlow did build a lead in the second set courtesy of the serves of Kayleigh Emanuelson and Emily Wegener who both had five service points.
The Falcons (19-5) went on to a 25-16 win.
The third set was just an old fashioned white knuckle adventure with neither team able to establish dominance. Joel Barlow led, 24-23, but could not close out. A service error by Barlow tied the game at 24.
Grace Gilmore gave Barlow another chance at game point with a kill but another error, two touches, tied it at 25. Barlow got another kill to go up 26-25 only to have Woodstock sophomore Aurissa Boardman (10 kills) tie it with a kill.
The Centaurs finally had their chance at game point when Barlow hit a volley long and the Centaurs cashed in on a Marissa Mayhew ace.
For Hernandez, it was the final match on her home floor.
“I don’t think there are any adjectives that I haven’t used to describe her,” Bottone said. “She is a once in a lifetime player who is up for Gatorade Player of the Year again. The sky is the limit for that girl. She has made this team so much better.”
Early in the week, the Centaurs rolled to a 3-0 win over Maloney in a first-round match.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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