WATERBURY — When the final point ricocheted off the Kennedy High School gymnasium floor Oct. 30 in the NVL championship there were no tears of disappointment on the faces of the Woodland volleyball team. The Hawks weren’t exactly jumping up and down celebrating the 3-0 loss to Seymour that decided the NVL crown. But there definitely was a sense of accomplishment and pride for how far this team had come.
Back when the season started no one really gave the Hawks a snow balls chance in Florida to make it back to the NVL title game. Yet, there they were on the floor at Kennedy defending their NVL title.
“I’m so proud of what these girls have accomplished this season,” said head coach Jim Amato, the Hawks’ biggest cheerleader. “To have the chance to defend our title returning just two players from last year’s team is a testament to the commitment and hard work this team put forth just to get here and as their coach I couldn’t be prouder of what they have accomplished.”
Based on their 18-5 record the Hawks are far from packing up the equipment for the season. There is still a Class M state championship to defend. That postseason journey begins Wednesday as No. 4 Woodland, which earned a bye in the first round, hosts No. 13 Wolcott in the second round.
Senior Anna Khalid, one of the two returning players who saw varsity time last year, credited Amato with giving the team the confidence it needed to reach the final.
“We love coach Amato, he’s our biggest fan,” Khalid said. “We may only have had two returning players but coach Amato encouraged us and gave us the confidence to believe that we could compete and defend our title and here we are.”
And compete they did. Woodland battled back in games two and three as senior Abbey Rosato attacked the net for side out kills to keep the Hawks within striking distance.
“At the start of the season our job was to bring the team together and be that experience out there on the court,” said Rosato, who also returned from last year’s title run. “We had five seniors that set the example and we had players who left everything on the court. All that hard work paid off and we are not done yet.”
Khalid and Rosato were named to the NVL All-Tournament team.
Seymour presented the optimum challenge as the number one seed in the tournament. The Wildcats compiled a 22-1 ledger with a gaudy 68-9 game match record and have only been taken to a five-gamer once in their only loss to Torrington. The Hawks were the number two seed with only one loss in league play to Seymour and losses to Masuk and two to SCC powerhouse Amity.
The last thing Seymour wanted was a fifth game where Woodland was a perfect 6-0 on the season.
The Wildcats broke out on top in game one opening a 9-3 advantage before Woodland could take its first time out. Jenna Boncal (11 digs) recorded a service winner and Khalid also had a successful service run on the strength of a pair of Rosato kills cutting the deficit to 14-9.
But Seymour took advantage of every mistake the Hawks made. Five unforced errors in eight services saw Woodland trailing by a wide 19-11 margin. The Wildcats used a distinct height advantage in the front row as Jesica Litwa (12 kills) and Jill Murphy (12 kills) led Seymour to an easy 25-14 victory in game one.
The Wildcats had a little trouble getting any breathing room in game two. Cameron Caswell (26 kills) threw herself to the floor to keep volleys alive for the Hawks.
Carla Piccolo (12 assists, nine digs) began to steer the offense and Sarah Reilly went from sideline to sideline making saves as Woodland trailed by a slim 8-7 margin. On back-to-back possessions the Hawks swung and missed and Seymour took full advantage opening up a 12-8 lead.
Woodland wasn’t going away that easily. Khalid got up over the net and slammed a side out kill into the floor. On the next possession Sam White drilled a return to the back row that settled just inches from the end line to stall another Wildcat run making it a tight 15-14 Seymour advantage.
A serve in the net and two returns that sailed out of bounds spelled doom as Seymour escaped with a hard-fought 25-19 win to take a 2-0 advantage heading into game three.
“Seymour just seemed to take advantage of every mistake we made,” Amato said. “They are a solid team. They have an excellent setter, a back line that can bring up almost anything and they have the height in the front row.
“But we gave them a battle. We fought for every point and left everything we had on the court and as a coach that’s all you can ask for from your team.”
Woodland took its only lead of the match in game three and battled Seymour for every point that hit the floor. After four ties the Wildcats held onto a slim 9-8 advantage when a Woodland swing-and-a-miss opened the door to opportunity.
Seymour stepped through that door and tacked on a pair of aces for good measure to open up a 13-9 lead. The Wildcats were threatening to run away with it until Boncal stepped in to serve with Rosato and Khalid making blocks and kills at the net.
The Wildcats retreated to a time out with the Hawks breathing down their necks at 17-16. Woodland began to miss fire and the Wildcats were there to pick up the pieces and pull away to a 25-20 final margin to win its fourth NVL title in the last seven years.
