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Volleyball team qualifies for Class L state tournament
It was quite the stretch for the Woodstock Academy volleyball team.
The Centaurs had to play East Lyme, South Windsor and Waterford, three pretty good programs, in a row with no break.
“I don’t want to say uneasy, but we were cautious coming into this week because we knew it was back-to-back-to-back. A lot of the girls are used to playing in club tournaments which are three-day events and they play for six hours or whatever so I don’t think it has the same impact as basketball or soccer but it’s a lot,” said coach Adam Bottone.
The Centaurs only lost one set, to East Lyme on Wednesday on the road, in a 3-1 win and shutout both South Windsor and Waterford on Thursday and Friday at home.
The three wins meant Woodstock now sports an 8-0 record and has qualified for the Class L state tournament.
“It’s really good,” said senior Izzy Mojica after the win over Waterford. “Last year was kind of hard because we hit a little low to start (5-3 at this time last year) so it’s nice to start out really strong.”
Bottone said it’s nice to just be able to check making the state tournament, which is always the first goal, off the list.
“To be done with that this early in the season is definitely a good thing. When you have that undefeated record, everyone is gunning for you. I love having it, but it’s just that much more work to maintain where we are and, hopefully, we can keep it going,” he said.
The Lancers also came into Friday night’s match undefeated at 6-0.
But Waterford clearly had some issues. The Lancers were missing one of their top front-line players in senior Brielle Kenney and had to adapt, going to a two-setter system.
“That definitely will affect a team when you have one of your top players out and you throw someone else into the mix. We go back to Waterford in a few weeks and I think it will be a different story. But we did a good job taking them out of system which may have impacted their ability to get (senior outside hitter Jennie Macca-Barnes) good quality swings out of good sets,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs limited Macca-Barnes presence on the front row throughout the match which was good as the senior still produced 11 kills.
But it showed in the match as the Centaurs gradually pulled away in the first set.
The two teams were tied at 10 but went on a 13-1 run courtesy of an eight-point service run by Mojica, including a pair of aces, and a four-point service run by Vivian Bibeau enroute to the 25-12 first set victory.
It was a bit more difficult in the second set, but a little bit was caused by the Centaurs themselves as they had four service errors which affected their momentum a bit but did not stop them from posting a 25-17 win.
Bottone was able to substitute in the third set and still saw his team prevail, 25-19, to win the match.
“We’re graduating seven seniors and two juniors on the court who play a lot so I have to the girls some court time when I can. They’re going into it probably with some nerves and how are they going to respond? Will they make the plays? If not, we will just switch them back out and back in at the next opportunity,” Bottone said.
Mojica led the Centaurs with 11 kills while Lily Bottone added 6. Setter Sophie Gronski was again a big part of the mix with 22 assists and Cassidy Ladd held the back line together with 15 digs.
“I’m happy with the defense which is something that I have harped on for a lot of years. They let a lot of balls drop and didn’t do a great job covering but we’ve really stepped up in that respect especially in the past few games,” Bottone said.
Bottone was a bit concerned about the team’s hitting efficiency especially around the net and that was a result of some tightening up needed when it comes to the team’s passing.
“We’re either too tight to the net or we’re right at the 10-foot line. We have to get that in about three feet inside the 10-foot line,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs dropped just the second set to East Lyme to score the win on the road.
Mojica had 14 kills while Kaylee Bundy and Mia Sorrentino added 10 each.
It’s one of the things that Bottone likes most about his club- its versatility,
Coming into the Waterford match, Mojica had 74 kills, Lily Bottone had 69, Bundy had 50, Sorrentino 42 and Vivian Bibeau 32.
The Centaurs made short work of South Windsor winning in the three-set minimum.
Mojica had eight kills in that match, Lily Bottone seven and Gronski contributed 24 assists.
“East Lyme is always a challenge for us, especially in their gym, so it’s always nice to go there and come out with a win. South Windsor in the past few years has gone to five sets and we’ve squeaked out those wins so to go 3-1 against East Lyme and 3-0 against South Windsor was nice especially back-to-back. It was good to get out fairly quickly and get some rest,” Bottone said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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caption:
Senior Izzy Mojica has been one of the keys for the team. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy