Greenwich falls in 5-set thriller
GREENWICH — Entering Friday’s match against FCIAC volleyball foe Greenwich, 10 of Westhill’s 12 wins came by the 3-0 variety. Yet the Vikings found themselves embroiled in a fiveset thriller against the Cardinals, in what proved to be one of their toughest tests of the season.
And like most of the tests they’ve faced, the Vikings aced it.
Finishing the fifth and deciding set strong, Westhill edged host Greenwich, 3-2, to run its record to a sparkling 14-1.
Junior Betsy Sachs registered a match-high 27 kills, to go along with six digs and five blocks, while junior Sophia Thagouras notched 21 assists, seven kills and four service points for the Vikings, who are 10-1 in FCIAC play.
Westhill won the match by set scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-11, 14-25, 15-11.
“We have been practicing all year on closing it out and not breaking in the fifth set,” Westhill coach Marianna Linnehan said. “They focused on every single point in the fifth game. You can’t let a good team like Greenwich come back.”
Sophomore Vana Servos tallied 16 service points and 30 assists, senior Nina Bakuradze had 20 digs and six service points and senior Nikki Newcomer added 27 digs, seven kills and seven service points in the winning effort.
“They were ranked very high, so we knew we had to beat them if we wanted to climb up in the rankings,” Thagouras said. “We knew we had to be aggressive, communicate and come together if we wanted to win. It helped put us in the lead and we pulled through.”
Greenwich (8-5) lost its second straight match that was decided in five games.
The Cardinals were beaten by Trumbull, 3-2, on Wednesday.
Sophomore Lilly Saleeby totaled 19 kills, while sophomore Erin O’Keefe posted 12 kills for the Cardinals. Gia Alfano, a senior, had four kills and senior Carolina Lew notched seven digs and six service points. Freshman Adele Sotgiu paced GHS in the serving department with 25 points.
“Westhill has great chemistry, we knew it was going to be a good match,” O’Keefe said. “They played really well, there’s a reason why they are 13-1. Our chemistry was good as well. We had a positive outlook and a lot of confidence throughout.”
VIKINGS’ STRONG FINISH
An ace by Jackie Feehan gave Greenwich a 3-1 lead in the fifth set, but three straight service points by Caroline Boyd gave the Vikings a 4-3 advantage. A kill by Newcomer later in the set gave Westhill a 7-5 lead.
The visitors went ahead for good at 11-10 on a kill by Servos.
“It was really intense, we knew what we had to do — we just had to perform and be aggressive in the fifth set,” Sachs said.
TYING IT UP
Greenwich forced a fifth set by displaying solid defensive play in the fourth set. The Cards were able to dig up some hard Vikings hits and also showed effective hitting of their own.
O’Keefe and Saleeby produced several momentum-changing kills during the game.
“Our team bond is so close, we have become a really close team,” Sachs said. “That’s what helps us in those type of close sets.”
“I’m really proud of our team,” Saleeby said. “Westhill is a really tough team, so it was good for us to make it this far with them. Hopefully, we’ll see them again in the playoffs. Our serve receive was a little shaky today and we also need to work on hitting our spots. But overall, we played really well.”
Senior Amelia Bartlett recorded 34 assists and 18 digs, while Saleeby had 14 digs and Lew added seven digs for Greenwich.
“That was great volleyball,” GHS coach Steve Lapham said. “It was the highest level of volleyball we played so far this season. We can play with every team in this league. Today, we just didn’t pick up their tips too well.”
QUOTABLE
“Our team bond is so close, which is what helps us in close sets like that,” Sachs said. “We know what we need to do to win close sets.”