Waterford sweeps way into state final
Lancers to play Seymour in Saturday’s championship
Groton — It took until midway through the third game of Tuesday's CIAC Class M girls' volleyball semifinal for Haddam-Killingworth to get a good block on Waterford's Ryleigh Gonyo.
Gonyo still found a way to help drive a dagger into the Cougars.
Gonyo managed to save the ball from going down which led to an H-K error. It started a match-ending 10-1 run as Waterford swept its way to a 25-15, 25-20, 25-9 win in a mere 1 hour, 12 minutes at Fitch High School.
The 11th-seeded Lancers (21-5) will try to win their second state title when they play top-seeded and defending state champion Seymour in Saturday's 1 p.m. final at East Haven. Waterford won the Class M championship in 2015.
The Wildcats (24-1) blitzed No. 12 Weston in its semifinal 25-15, 25-18, 25-12.
Gonyo had 15 kills and nine digs, Sabrina Kobyluck had 23 assists and six digs, and
Briana Muckle had 13 digs for Waterford.
Angela Colonis added five kills and five aces and Rachel Miller had eight digs, three kills and two blocks for the Lancers.
Waterford led Game 3, 13-8, when Gonyo tried to hit from the middle and was blocked.
“My instinct was just to throw my arm up in the air and it (the ball) went up,” Gonyo said. “I literally just flung my arm. “It worked.” Waterford went on to return the ball over to the No 15 Cougars (15-11), who would go on to make a hitting error. It seemed to rattle them, too, as the Lancers went on a 7-0 run.
H-K made four errors during that run, Colonis served two aces and Gonyo had a block to put Waterford ahead, 20-8.
“We just went off from there,” Gonyo said.
Lancers head coach Matt Maynard said, “When you get late into these games, the pressure always follows on the (losing) team, and every single point is like another nail in that coffin. So that's why we're all about the details. That's why we're all about hitting the floor (for a dig).
"The ball doesn't hit the floor without
one of us. They've bought into that and they're playing out of their minds right now. It's fun to watch.”
Waterford didn't rack up a bevy of kills or blocks due to the speed of the match, but it did a much better job than the Cougars at controlling the net and making them work to get their hits past its blockers.
Liliana Kramer had three blocks and Kate Lange had two for Waterford.
“We worked really hard on where to set the block and when to set the block and our timing,” Maynard said. “We knew that they were really, really tall. “We knew that they had skill. So we spent a lot of time taking care of our side and making sure if they were going to hit it (that) they weren't going to have a free swing.
“Get a piece (of the ball). Always get a piece. I think you saw that our back-row was ready to get pieces. Our back row was ready for those rolls (rolling dives), and those adjustments and our blocking came up huge.” n.griffen@theday.com
“The ball doesn’t hit the floor without one of us. They bought into that and they’re playing out of their minds right now. It’s fun to watch.” MATT MAYNARD WATERFORD COACH