Naugatuck jelling on the court

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By Ken Morse, Citizen’s News

Naugatuck’s Nadia Cestari serves during a match against Wolcott Oct. 1 at Naugatuck High School. -CONTRIBUTED BY NAUGATUCK SCHOOLS

NAUGATUCK — The Greyhounds may not have the opportunity to defend their Naugatuck Valley League volleyball title due to the abbreviated fall season, but they haven’t let that slow them down.

The Greyhounds swept Holy Cross, 3-0 (25-3, 25-17, 25-15), Oct. 8 to pick up their fourth straight win to start the season.

Kendall Allen and Sam Mullin had 11 points each to spark the offense. Lindsey Walsh had 12 assists, and Kaylee Jackson had eight points and eight kills.

Naugy has been clicking on all cylinders, and it hasn’t mattered what combination of players are on the court.

“We are not doing too bad,” said Naugatuck head coach Kevin Wesche, taking a more cautious view of things when it comes to his team’s 12-1 game record through four matches.

“There are still some things we need to improve on,” Wesche insisted. “With all the conditioning that we had to do it didn’t leave us much time for developing skills.”

Wesche has gone to his bench often to build cohesiveness among the squad.

“We have been rotating 10 to 12 players and we are beginning to jell out on the court,” Wesche said. “They are communicating out there and having fun. They were pretty excited to start the season because you just never knew from day to day if we would even have a season.”

Mullin was a bright spot with 17 points in the season-opening, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-11) win over Wolcott Oct. 1.

Walsh led the way with 17 points and 11 assists in a 3-1 (25-9, 21-25, 25-14, 25-20) win over St. Paul Oct. 2.

The Greyhounds spread the damage around against St. Paul. Allen netted 10 points. Jackson, Nadia Cestari and Mullin had nine points each, and Alyssa Roberts had five kills.

Jackson had the hot hand in a 3-0 (25-6, 25-18, 25-20) victory against Torrington Oct. 7. She knocked down 19 points to go along with six aces and 10 kills. Walsh had nine points and nine assists.

Naugatuck is set to play Watertown Oct. 13. The Greyhounds will host St. Paul Oct. 16 and head to Wolcott Oct. 20.