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Even. That’s pretty much how Woodstock Academy volleyball coach Adam Bottone looked at the match between his fourth-seeded Centaurs and No. 12 St. Joseph in a Class L quarterfinal Saturday.
It turned out to be just that as the two teams split the first four sets.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the Cadets got the momentum at the end of the fourth set and never lost it in the fifth, scoring a 15-6 win to come away with the 3-2 victory overall to move into the Class L semifinals.
“The loss stinks for sure, especially when you are up two sets to one, but, at least, we lost to a good team that played hard and got after it,” Adam Bottone said.
St. Joseph (16-6) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the decisive fifth set but two kills by Izzy Mojica, who finished with 13 overall, and a kill for setter Sophie Gronski helped the Centaurs get back within two at 7-5.
A Liliana Bottone kill kept the Centaurs close at 8-6 but it would be the last point Woodstock would score as the Cadets put up the next seven for the win.
Woodstock won the first set 25-13 and seemingly had things going on all cylinders, getting nice kills from the outside from Liliana Bottone (18 kills) and Mojica with Reegan Reynolds (11 kills) also getting into the act from the middle.
St. Joseph won that second set, 25-23, but Woodstock rallied in the third, 25-17, only to see the Cadets force the fifth set with a 25-20 win in the fourth.
Gronski had 45 assists against St. Joseph with Cassidy Ladd getting 16 digs.
The Centaurs finished with a 17-8 record.
Woodstock advanced to the quarterfinal with a 3-0 victory over Brookfield earlier in the week. The Centaurs handled the Bobcats with wins of 25-14, 25-17, and 25-18.
Mojica led the way with 10 kills. Liliana Bottone added eight kills and Mia Sorrentino five as the Centaurs again spread the wealth. Ladd finished with eight aces. Gronski had 23 assists.
In the first-round state tournament match the Centaurs send 29th-seeded Torrington home with a 3-0 loss. Liliana Bottone and Sorrentino each contributed four kills and Mojica had six service points in a 25-12 first set victory.
Gronski had eight of her 12 service points and all three of her aces and Emma Kerr added seven of her 14 points in the second set. The two long service runs helped produce a one-sided, 25-4, result.
Kerr got the Centaurs out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and Mojica (15 service points) put together an eight-point run with four of her five aces on the night to extend the lead to 13-1. Woodstock walked away with the 25-10 victory. Liliana Bottone and Mojica had nine kills each while Sorrentino added eight and a block. Gronski finished with 29 assists.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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