The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TOP PERFORMERS | GAMES TO WATCH
TOP PERFORMERS
Taylor Benaitis, Northwest Catholic: The junior outside hitter had a double-double with 13 kills and 19 digs to help Northwest Catholic get past Windsor 3-2 on Friday.
Evelyn Brenton, Glastonbury: The junior led the Guardians with 13 kills, five aces and four blocks during a 3-2 win over Bristol Eastern on Friday.
Sydney Clark, Northwest Catholic: The senior libero amassed 28 digs during a five-set victory over Windsor on Friday. She has 67 digs in her last three matches, and 179 this season.
Maura Conlan, Stratford: Conlan, a junior, led Stratford to a 3-0 shutout of town rival Bunnell, picking up 12 assists, seven digs and three aces.
Leilani Gillespie, Darien: The junior hitter had 13 kills, seven digs and one ace to help lead the Blue Wave past Trumbull 3-0 in an FCIAC showdown on Saturday. She also had 10 kills and six digs in a 3-0 shutout against Westhill last Thursday.
Lucy Grillo, Brien McMahon: The senior collected 12 kills, 15 digs and four aces to help the Senators defeat Wilton in four sets on Tuesday.
Ally Hadley, RHAM: Hadley, a junior, led the Raptors with 32 digs during a 3-1 victory over South Windsor. She also had 10 kills and one ace in the win. Hadley had 11 kills, 14 digs and six aces in a shutout of New Britain last Friday.
Abby Jones, Bristol Eastern: The setter racked up 59 assists and 14 digs, but the Lancers fell to Glastonbury 3-2 on Friday.
Sydney Katz, Ridgefield: The senior collected 38 assists in the Tigers’ 3-1 victory against Warde on Saturday.
Halle Krause, Guilford: Krause hit double digits in two categories with 18 kills and 14 digs as the Grizzlies defeated Shelton 3-2 in an SCC battle last Friday.
Madison Lodovico, Bristol Central: The junior put down 19 kills and had five digs in Bristol Centrals’ 3-1 win over Farmington on Friday.
Jayna MacKenzie, Sheehan: MacKenzie had 16 kills, seven digs and four aces in Shehan’s five-set victory over Sacred Heart Academy last Friday.
Avery Mola, Cheshire: The junior hitter had 16 kills, two aces and one block as the Rams took down Amity 3-0 in a battle of unbeaten teams last Friday.
Nyssa Park, Conard: Park, a senior, did a bit of everything with 29 assists, 12 digs, two kills and a pair of aces in a 3-0 shutout of East Catholic on Friday. She also had 25 assists, four digs and eight aces in a 3-0 shutout of Northwest Catholic last Wednesday.
Brenna Piller, Simsbury: The junior collected 30 assists and 18 kills during a 3-1 win over Farmington last Wednesday.
Daisy Pope, Guilford: The senior setter dished out 34 assists to help Guilford top Shelton in five sets on Friday.
Jillian Roche, Darien: Roche collected 21 kills and 23 digs in two games as Darien blanked Westhill and Trumbull last week. She had 17 digs and eight kills against Westhill, and 13 kills and eight digs against Trumbull.
Kat Roth, New Canaan: The Rams’ setter racked up 57 assists in five sets as New Canaan defeated Wilton 3-2 on Saturday.
Emma Rousseau, Seymour: The senior setter dished out 27 assists as the Wildcats swept Naugatuck 3-0 in a battle between two NVL contenders on Tuesday.
Julia Rusi, Kennedy: Rusi, a senior, collected 24 kills and 20 digs to help lead Kennedy past Holy Cross in five sets on Tuesday.
Lily Stevens, New Canaan: The sophomore hitter had a huge game with 38 kills and 31 digs to lead the Rams to a five-set win over Wilton on Saturday.
Hannah Webber, Bristol Eastern: Webber collected 35 kills, 14 digs and three aces in the Lancers’ five-set loss to Glastonbury on Friday.
GAMES TO WATCH
Ludlowe at Trumbull, Thurs., 5:30 p.m.: Ludlowe was the only team to defeat Trumbull during last year’s shortened season. The Falcons have been solid this fall, earning the No. 6 spot in the state poll, while Trumbull sits just outside the Top 10.
Seymour at Woodland, Thurs., 6 p.m.: Seymour remained unbeaten after knocking off Naugatuck on Tuesday, and now takes on another strong NVL rival in Woodland. Woodland lost two of its first three, but has since won seven straight matches.
Ludlowe at St. Joseph, Sat., 11:30 a.m.: Ludlowe is in the midst of a tough stretch which has included losses to No. 1 Greenwich and No. 3 Darien. St. Joseph is another challenge, as the Cadets are unbeaten in the FCIAC.
Trumbull at Greenwich, Sat., Noon: Trumbull has stumbled of late, losing two straight to Darien and Ridgefield heading into a match with Ludlowe on Thursday. This is yet another tough matchup, as the Cards have
won 22 straight and are ranked No. 1 in the state.
Greenwich at New Canaan, Mon., 5:30 p.m.: Top-ranked Greenwich is receiving a true test this week, facing defending Class LL champion Trumbull, New Canaan and Darien in a span of five days.
Stratford at Weston, Tues., 5:30 p.m.: The last two unbeaten teams in the SWC square off. Stratford has dropped just one set in nine matches, while Weston has won three five-setters en route to an 11-0 mark.
Kennedy at Naugatuck, Tues., 6 p.m.: An NVL clash between two-loss teams. Kennedy bounced back from a loss to Torrington to defeat Holy Cross in five sets on Tuesday. Naugatuck had a five-match win streak snapped against Seymour on Tuesday.
Greenwich at Darien, Wed., 4 p.m.: No. 1 vs. No. 3. While Greenwich won all three meetings with the Wave last year, none were shutouts and two went to five sets, including in the FCIAC West Division final.
RHAM at Conard, Wed. 5 p.m.:
A battle at the top of the CCC standings. No. 4 Conard is unbeaten at 9-0, while No. 7 RHAM is 9-1 and has won eight straight since a loss to Southington week one.