Volleyball: Warriors’ Dramatic Comeback Against No. 2 Greenwich Last Friday

The Wilton Varsity Volleyball Team picked up an unlikely win in their home game against Greenwich last Friday, Oct. 10. With a strong record of 10-1, the Cardinals were tough competition, holding the number two spot in the FCIAC league, right behind Darien. After suffering a few hard losses to teams they had hoped to beat, Wilton’s expectation was simply to get out and play the best they could that night.

At the time, the Warriors had an FCIAC record of only 2-9 and lagged close to the bottom in league standings. “We all knew it was going to be a tough game from the start,” Jessie Huffman, a junior on the team, said about the Friday match.

As had been the pattern in previous seasons, Greenwich jumped out to an early lead in the first set. The first two servers brought in a few consecutive points for the team, leaving the Warriors behind. Despite catching up toward the back half of the game, Wilton still lost the set 16-25. The second game yielded similar results, as the Greenwich team again got a head start and topped Wilton by ten points, winning with a final score of 25-15.

Despite the first two losses, Wilton started the third set in higher spirits. “At the beginning of the third game, we started to have some really good plays. There was more energy on the court and we were able to keep the momentum up all the way through the final point,” said Julia Schiavone, the team’s setter. Unleashing a newfound energy on the court, the Wilton team started running some effective plays and gaining speed against Greenwich. The game started out strong. Wilton pulled in a few points from the first server and senior co-captain, Sabrina Malik, who brought in 15 total service points for Wilton by the end of the game. This lead gave the Warriors the confidence and momentum that they needed to recover from the first two losses. The team stepped up in the last few plays, winning the third set by only two points with a close final score of 26-24.

The Warriors brought the same energy to the fourth set, with middle hitter Natalie Bennett scoring a few consecutive points for the team and libero Shannon Golden digging hard hits sent over by Greenwich. Wilton again claimed the lead for the first half of the game, and finished strong with a score of 25-19.

The last set, which was to be played to only 15 points, brought on a lot of pressure for the team. The comeback thus far had been impressive, but the Warriors had their minds set on winning. Head coach Steven Brienza said about the match “I was most impressed by our team’s ability to remain composed under the high levels of pressure and excitement that came with the game this past Friday.” The final set, was, in fact, a pivotal moment of the match. Despite the inherent pressure of the situation, Wilton’s starters emerged on the court composed and levelheaded. “We had to stay calm,” Huffman said of the final game.

Greenwich and Wilton fought neck and neck for the final set. Despite a lag at the start, Wilton started gaining points against Greenwich toward the end. Bennett made some smart plays at the net while Malik and Golden continued to pick up the Cardinals’ hits. Kelly Pagoto, a senior defensive specialist, scored the final three service points of the game, leaving the Warriors with a close win of 15-12 and with the biggest victory of their season thus far.

“The key to our comeback was definitely movement,” Golden said of the match. “Every single person on the court was completely in sync and played as a single unit. Our team doesn’t need heroes, we need everybody to execute in their individual position with consistency and positivity. That’s what made the difference for us in the Greenwich game.”

This win could be a step in the right direction for the Wilton Volleyball Team; it certainly marked one of the most important wins for the Warriors this season.

“Our team really rose to the occasion and finished the game strong, which is the kind of energy we want to keep up for the rest of the season,” Brienza said about the major comeback. The Warriors hope to keep up the same momentum in their match against Westhill this Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 4:30 p.m..

FCIAC Highlights from the game:

Wilton:

Sabrina Malik – 15 service points, 2 aces, 4 kills, 20 digs
Shannon Golden – 4 service points, 30 digs
Julia Schiavone – 8 service points, 14 digs, 14 assists
Natalie Bennett – 7 kills, 6 blocks
Claire McCullough – 5 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks

Greenwich Highlights:

Izzy Chudy – 14 kills, 4 blocks
Nadia Sotgiu – 2 aces, 11 kills, 9 digs

Editor’s note:  The author is a player on the team. She’s also a terrifically talented high school junior who joins the writers of GOOD Morning Wilton with this, her first article. She notes that the volleyball team is holding a Dig Pink event, playing to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. The whole team dresses up in pink, decorates the school, etc. and will be making this effort at two games to raise awareness:  on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Westhill and Friday, Oct. 17, when the team is home against Staples.