- Details
- Category: Current Issue
Centaurs pick
up big win
over E. Lyme
The Woodstock Academy volleyball team won the first two sets against East Lyme on Friday.
To make matters worse for the visiting Vikings, outstanding Libero Skylar Bell had to leave the match with an arm injury in the middle of the second set.
The scene was set for a Centaurs shutout. However, Bell returned to help lift East Lyme to a victory in the third set and a 17-11 lead in the fourth.
But, the Centaurs were not about to let the Vikings steal the win as they rallied to win in the fourth set and posted the 3-1 victory.
The win raised the Centaurs record to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in Div. I of the ECC.
“I definitely think it can,” said coach Adam Bottone when asked if it was the type of win that could put the Centaurs on the right path for the remainder of the season. “(East Lyme is) a loaded team with a lot of solid hitters and great defense. We match up really well with them that way. If we can play like this, what’s going to happen when everything comes together for us? That’s what I get out of this.”
Things had to come together for the Centaurs at the end of the fourth set.
East Lyme (4-2, 0-1) had built the six-point lead and looked like it was going to force a fifth set.
“It was really stressful because I, just personally, get stressed a lot but it was also a lot of fun. I could feel the energy growing more and more and it was just such a fun experience,” said junior outside hitter Liliana Bottone.
The Centaurs cut the lead in half with a pair of Cassidy Ladd aces and that’s where it stood, 22-19, when setter Sophie Gronski stepped behind the service line.
“At first, it was like ’Man, I got to get this serve in’ but the rest of it I just blanked out of my mind and I knew I was fine and just really calmed down,” Gronski said.
One of those was an ace and she got a lot of help from sophomore outside hitter Kaylee Bundy, who delivered two of her eight kills at a crucial time, to put the Centaurs up, 24-22.
A service fault did pull the Vikings back within one but East Lyme hit a ball wide that sealed the win for the Centaurs.
“East Lyme, in my mind, is always such a hard team for us to play. Having this four-set win over them, has us on top of the world. It feels so good,” Gronski said.
Woodstock had to battle to win the first set as well with a Liliana Bottone ace giving the Centaurs the 25-23 win.
The service line was a Jekyll and Hyde scenario for the Centaurs in the match as they made some key service points but also had 20 service errors.
“We had a lot of trouble with our service errors which put us behind the eight-ball a little bit,” Adam Bottone said.
That made Gronski’s efforts behind the line late even more impressive.
“That was a huge spot for her to come in, being down as much as we were, and getting us the lead. That was fantastic,” Adam Bottone said.
The Centaurs also took the second set, 25-16, as the Vikings were dealing with the Bell injury. But East Lyme posted a 25-14 win in the third.
“I’m glad that we showed some fight there in that last set,” Adam Bottone said. “They came out and pounced on us in that third set, put us on our heels a little bit. We struggled a bit to maintain the game, but when the pressure was on us in the fourth set, we fought really, really hard and I’m really proud how we played at the end.”
Gronski finished with 25 assists while Liliana Bottone added 11 kills and 16 digs and Ladd had 10 digs.
There were a couple of numbers that stood out for Woodstock Academy in a 3-0 sweep of Plainfield earlier in the week at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
The first was the service points.
The Centaurs racked up 50 and the second was that 19 of those were aces.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Ladd. “We’ve all had a tough time serving especially me. My last percentage was like 62. It’s great that we all went on a lot of service runs and our service percentage was probably the highest it has ever been (this season). I’m really happy about that.”
Bundy went on a six-point service run to start the match and middle hitter Reegan Reynolds followed at the end of the first set with a seven-point run including six aces to help the Centaurs to a 25-9 set victory over the Panthers.
Ladd continued that in the second set, won by Woodstock 25-10, when she put together a 10-point run.
“It’s definitely one of the longest streaks I’ve ever had,” Ladd said.
Liliana Bottone did the honors in a 25-15 third set victory with a seven-point run of her own including four aces.
Ladd wasn’t the only one happy with that success from behind the line.
“Our serve percentage was 88, it has been in the low 80’s, we would like it to be in the 90’s so it’s still a work in progress but I’m proud that we had some good long service runs. Super happy about that and, hopefully, we can build upon that,” said Adam Bottone.
It was a big win considering the Centaurs had just dropped their third match in four outings to Waterford the Friday before.
“Going down to 1-3 at the beginning of the season is not an ideal position to be in especially when two of those matches, I thought we could have won. Glastonbury and Waterford, we lost most of those sets by two points. For us, it’s just a matter of understanding the flow of the game and being able to terminate when we need to,” Adam Bottone said.
Liliana Bottone paced the Centaurs with 16 kills while Bundy finished with nine. Reynolds ended with four kills and Gronski flipped three over the net to go with her 20 assists.
“I would have liked to see the offense spread out a little more. On our end, that means just being able to dig the ball better and get better passes. I’m happy that Kaylee had some success because she is making the transition from the middle to the outside. Sophie is able to keep the defense honest with those little flips so that teams can’t expect us just to hit and hit. We like to mix those in and she has got really good at picking the time,” Adam Bottone said.
The win also meant something else.
The first brief postgame dance party for the Centaurs.
“It was great. We’ve done it since last year and it’s so much fun. It really brings us together. We’ve worked on it together at practice and at lunch. It’s a fun way to celebrate,” Ladd said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Ladd and Bottone: Juniors Cassidy Ladd (14) and Liliana Bottone (8) await a serve from Plainfield.
Gronski: Junior Sophie Gronski (3) lofts one of her 20 assists against Plainfield
.
Reynolds: Senior Reegan Reynolds soars over the net to attempt a block of a Plainfield volley.
Bottone and Boshka: Head coach Adam Bottone (on floor) goes for a celebratory spin courtesy of assistant coach Jeff Boshka following a 3-0 win over Plainfield. Photos by Marc Allard.
.