Sports: East Lyme rallies past Waterford in ECC Division I volleyball semifinals
East Lyme rallies past Waterford in five and will play Woodstock for ECC Division I title
Groton — Usually laid-back East Lyme coach Jack Biggs was on his feet for the fifth game Monday night, waving, pacing, rallying.
“Usually I sit back,” Biggs said. “I wanted to show them I had their back, win or lose, I had their back to play hard. … You've got to keep playing. You can't dwell on every point. The warmup didn't seem right. But it's the postseason. You gotta survive; that's what we were able to do.”
East Lyme, led by 36 kills from senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono, came from a game down twice to beat Waterford in the semifinals of the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I volleyball tournament at Fitch High School, 25-27, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 15-6.
The second-seeded Vikings (18-3), after being within a few points of No. 3 Waterford one way or the other for two-hours-plus, won Game 5 with relative ease as they gained energy, earning the right to face top-seeded Woodstock Academy, the defending champion, in Wednesday's championship match (6:30 p.m., Norwich Free Academy).
Woodstock (20-0) blanked Fitch 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 in the second semifinal.
“Once we were able to pass well, our team is unbeatable,” said Iannantuono, who added 10 digs and three aces. “Once we're in our groove, we know what's up. Once you make smart plays … work as a team and not six individuals.
“We were able to figure it out. We played together. I love my team.”
Sophie Dubreuil had 22 digs for East Lyme, Mya Delesdernier 12 digs and four aces and Kamryn Ebersole 35 assists.
Rachel Miller had 14 kills and two aces for Waterford (15-4), Ryleigh Gonyo 19 digs and 12 kills and Gretchen Dusza 56 assists.
Waterford lost to Woodstock 3-2 and East Lyme 3-1 in back-to-back matches earlier in the season and won 11 straight matches after that. The Lancers beat Ledyard 3-1 in the ECC quarterfinals Friday. They came Monday ready to defend, led by libero Jenny Keth, against East Lyme's power game, forcing the Vikings to play with more patience.
Waterford led right away in Game 1, 8-1, prompting a Biggs timeout, then trailed 21-16 before coming from behind for the victory with Keth serving out the game. The second game was tied 18-18 until a six-point run by East Lyme, with Ebersole serving, gave the Vikings the decisive lead.
Game 3 once again went to Waterford, with the Lancers leading by as much as 18-8, getting a strong service game by Ellie Lokken, including an ace that made it 16-8. East Lyme once again had to battle for the lead in Game 4, with the scored deadlocked at 10-10. Ianannatuono caught fire as the Vikings forged a 20-12 lead and the Vikings won, despite a late rally by Waterford, as Delesdernier earned the kill to tie things at two games-all.
East Lyme never trailed in Game 5, leading 5-0. Iannantuono credited Dubreuil, the libero, for helping to get the passing game back in sync — "she's everywhere; once she got into the groove, we were able to set up offense," Iannantuono said.
Biggs, meanwhile, called Iannantuono "one of the best outside hitters in the state."
"And one of the best leaders," Biggs said. "She's not going to give in. Ever. On any single point."
Against Woodstock, Fitch never let the Centaurs get comfortable. A late rally in Game 2, with Nora Ryan coming up with consecutive emphatic blocks, pulled the Falcons (12-8) within 23-19. Fitch led Game 3 at one point 7-4.
Ryan had 15 kills and four blocks for Fitch, Olivia Carney 26 assists and Nyseanah Ishmael eight kills. Madeline Gronski had 31 digs for Woodstock. v.fulkerson@theday.com