NAUGATUCK — After defeating Guilford 3-1 in the first round of the Class L tournament, the Naugatuck girls volleyball team lost to undefeated RHAM 3-0 (12-25, 9-25, 20-25) Nov. 6 in Hebron.
While Naugy was unable to win a game against the defending state champion, who are the favorite to take the trophy again this year, coach Kevin Wesche was pleased with his young team’s performance.
“I think we did very well considering what we were up against,” Wesche said. “Our girls showed a lot of class, a lot of grit, a lot of fight. We made them burn two timeouts in the last game, which they are not accustomed to. We ended up losing that game but we still gave them a good run for their money.”
A good run for their money, indeed, and that is what the Greyhounds have done all year long. After a tough first loss of the season to Woodland, which advanced the Class M semifinals, Naugy went on a five-game winning streak. The streak included a win against Torrington, which co-captain Erika Andreoli says was the biggest win of the year for them.
“It was a big win especially because they beat us three times last year,” said Andreoli, a key server for Naugy in her past two seasons.
After finishing last year as one of the premier teams in the NVL, Wesche again saw his team towards the top of the league. The success of the team was not surprising to Wesche, despite their inexperience at the varsity level.
“I think they matured and developed throughout the season,” said Wesche, whose Greyhounds finished the regular season 14-6 and received the 15 seed in the Class L tournament. “We had a very inexperienced front row back in August but they became very experienced by the time the season finished up thanks to our senior leadership.”
That senior leadership is headed by Naugy’s three captains, Kara Klimaszewski, Lauren Burns and Andreoli.
“We all had different personalities but the same role,” Andreoli said. “There were some points in the season when there was some tension because we were facing a hard opponent, so we called team meetings to talk things over. We tried to keep the team up and together because in volleyball, that is very important.”
Klimaszewski also occasionally came in on Wesche’s front line to provide her leadership to a young group, which included Nicole Healy, Olivia Rotatori and Alexa Blazas, while Teree Perkins and Ally Mezzo would also rotate in. Burns was quite astounded by the young front line and said they all stepped up this year.
“They really stepped up for our offense,” Burns said. “They hit, blocked, and were able to serve for us.”
Every one of these girls will be returning to Wesche’s squad next season, and that makes the coach very optimistic, despite the losses of the 2015 graduates.
“I think they will come back strong next year,” Wesche said. “We will have strong and experienced front line. That came with the leadership and example from the seniors that we had this year.”
