Sports: No. 1 Stonington boys upset by Woodstock in ECC Div. I soccer semifinals

East Lyme swept past of a pair Class LL powers with ease to end the regular season, beating Amity and Newtown each 3-0. The Vikings have struggled with conference opponent Woodstock Academy so far this season, however, falling twice to the Centaurs.

"We put up a hard fight against them the first game," said senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono of East Lyme's 3-2 loss to Woodstock on Sept. 7. "Last time (3-0 loss, Oct. 18) we let them get in our heads."

Unbeaten Woodstock (20-0), the No. 1 seed and top-ranked team in the state, will try to defend its Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I volleyball tournament championship at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Norwich Free Academy. The opponent will be familiar foe East Lyme (18-3), the No. 2 seed.

Woodstock beat East Lyme in last year's ECC semifinals before blanking Killingly to win the title 25-19, 25-10, 25-18.

"We beat them 3-0 (last time)," Woodstock coach Adam Bottone said. "I don't know that's going to happen again. They're strong like us on the outside. We're going to have to defend that."

Iannantuono led East Lyme to a 3-2 victory over Waterford in the semifinals Monday with 36 kills, 10 digs and three aces. Sophie Dubreuil had 22 digs, Mya Delesdernier 12 digs and four aces and Kamryn Ebersole 35 assists. The Vikings trailed 1-0 and 2-1 before winning the final two games.

Woodstock defeated Fitch 3-0 in the other semifinal, but never really sustained momentum. Natalie Low had 16 kills to lead the Centaurs, Paula Hernandez Aulet 14 kills and Madeline Gronski 31 digs.

Biggs is looking forward to the atmosphere at NFA, calling it "an exciting tournament to go to."

"The final, it's a big crowd. It's fast and exciting. It's a fun sport to come watch compete," Biggs said.

"We're always excited," Bottone said of going back to the championship match. "East Lyme has a good fan base. We'll have a good fan base. It should be a good enviroment."

The East Lyme-Woodstock matchup will be preceeded by the Division II tournament final featuring No. 1 Lyman Memorial (12-8) and No. 3 Plainfield (16-6) at 4:30 p.m. ECC all-stars, sportsmanship award winners and scholar-athlete recipients will be introduced between matches.

— Vickie Fulkerson