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Get well soon. It has been the mantra of the Woodstock Academy volleyball team the past couple of weeks. Illness and injuries prohibited the Centaurs from playing two matches. But this week, the Centaurs have returned to the court. Barely. Only seven players and two assistant coaches have been available to participate.
“It’s not easy but we have adjusted," said assistant coach Alyssa Icart.
Icart was on the bench in place of head coach Adam Bottone who has also been sidelined.
But even facing those odds and playing two matches in two nights, the Centaurs did pull out a win. They improved to 1-1 in Div. I of the ECC, breaking a five-match losing streak, with a 3-1 victory over NFA. That followed on the heels of a 3-0 loss to Fitch the night before.
Annarose Avery and most of her teammates played the entire match. The only substitution the team was capable of making was at Libero.
It didn’t start all that well for Woodstock against NFA. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 11-point advantage in the first set, 14-3, and were closing in on the win at 20-10.
But the Centaurs rallied --- freshman Liliana Bottone delivered four consecutive service points including two aces to cut the lead to five, 20-15.
It was 22-19 when another junior, Jade Desmond, got the ball behind the service line and delivered three straight points to tie the match at 22. But the Wildcats rallied for the 25-23 win. Woodstock jumped out early in the second set as freshman Sophie Gronski broke a 6-all tie with three consecutive aces and added another later to put the Centaurs up, 13-6.
NFA tied the set at 20 but Gronski delivered three more of her 10 service points on the night and the Centaurs prevailed, 25-21.
It was sophomore Reegan Reynolds who delivered seven early service points in the third set, including a pair of aces, and helped Woodstock to an early 12-6 lead. The Centaurs went on to win the third set, 25-22, and won the match with a 25-22 fourth set victory.
Bottone has been rotating Avery and Gronski at setter early this season. With the lack of players, Avery remained at setter the entire game against NFA and finished with a season-high 32 assists.
The Centaurs saw a 3-1 loss to Ledyard to fall to 2-6 on the season. Boardman had 18 kills and 11 service points in the loss to the Colonels (6-3). Cassidy Chabot returned to the lineup and the freshman added 15 digs.
The Centaurs had a difficult time against undefeated Fitch on the road early in the week. Fitch captured the win in straight sets, 25-13, 25-22 and 25-13. Boardman had 12 kills in the loss, Gronski had 15 digs.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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