In the Quarterfinals of the Class LL State Tournament, the fourth seed Blue Wave Girls’ Volleyball team (17-2) took on fifth seed Fairfield Ludlowe (16-2) at home on Saturday November 4th at 4:00. In regular season play, the Blue Wave had beaten the Falcons 3 sets to 1. However, the Falcons had adjusted their lineup in many ways in between the two meetings.
The Blue Wave was playing catch up from the beginning as the Falcons got out to a strong start. Despite enthusiastic cheering from the white-out home crowd led by staunch supporter junior Drew Hardin, the first set ended with Ludlowe up 25 to 18.
The second set began to follow a similar pattern with Ludlowe ahead early due to a good serving run that left them up 6 to 3. The Wave fought back, and good kills from sophomore Izzy Taylor and steady serving from senior Nicole Schmidt brought the team to a tie at 15 points, and the teams traded points to bring it to a tie at 17. The Falcons pulled ahead, and despite a beautiful touch over by junior Claire Naughton, a Wave serve that was called as out (although contested by Darien fans) let the Falcons regain momentum. Later, a good block by Ludlowe brought the score to 22 to 20. Naughton and Taylor had solid hits based on excellent sets from Captain Celia Martzolf, but it wasn’t enough, and the Falcons closed out the set 25 to 22.
Darien was able to get their first lead of the match at 3-2 in the 3rd set thanks to a hit from Naughton, a block from Taylor, and Schmidt’s serving. Although Ludlowe came back to lead 10-7, the game was brought back to a tie at 12 following a Darien time-out. Following strong serving by Martzolf and hits by Taylor and sophomore Samantha Huff gave Darein the 17-14, made 20-16 with junior Keli Reyes’ serving. Martzolf had beautiful sets culminating in a nice tip over by Naughton and Schmidt served out the set, Darien 25-17.
Ludlowe used the time between sets to complete a bouncy dance cheer, but the Wave got out to a 3-2 lead. However, the two teams traded spikes and serves to bring it to a 8-8 tie. The crowd cheered as the two teams battled. On some points, the Wave played fabulous defense but still ultimately lost the point. Momentum moved back and forth until pressure caused both teams to hit balls long. At Darien 23, Ludlowe 21, Taylor stepped into the service box, Ludlowe hit the ball wide, and Taylor’s next serve, which landed squarely on the back line, won the set for the Wave 25 to 21.
In the fifth and final set, the Blue Wave served first, but the teams went back and forth followed by good Ludlowe serving brought Ludlowe ahead 7-4. Martzolf served well for the next point and Taylor smashed the ball home. Each team then proceeded to serve a ball out, but Taylor served to take the score to 7 all. A big hit by Ludlowe followed by a strong block gave the Falcons a boost, and the score was Ludlowe 10, Darien 7. Ludlowe’s good hit was matched by an effective spike by Schmidt, and the score edged ahead Ludlowe 11, Darien 8. Reyes served a great ball to take a point, but when the next serve was out, and Ludlowe served a good ball next, the Falcons edged ahead 13 to 9. On the next point, Taylor had a kill and gave Barsanti the serve. Her excellent serve brought Darien a much-needed point, and the score reached Ludlowe 13, Darien 11. The Falcons followed up with two big hits, and the set was ended in Ludlowe’s favor 15 to 11, winning them the set and the game.
Despite the disappointment of this loss, the young Wave team had a fantastic season and is poised to do even more damage next year. As captain Schmidt, the lone senior, said, “We gave it our all and stuck together as a team. Overall it was a really great season and I can’t wait to see what the team does next year.”
 |
| Izzy Taylor jumps to serve the ball, courtesy of Darien Athletic Foundation |
No comments:
Post a Comment