Suffield outlasts Windsor, 3-1

The Windsor volleyball team put up some resistance, but Suffield prevailed by a score of three sets to one, in the match at Windsor on Sept. 26.

Suffield improved to 8-1 on the season, and has only lost five sets to date.

Coach Larry Plano said his Wildcats were tested by the Warriors.

“They’re a good team. They played well, they served well, and they have some real athletic kids on the front row, and we haven’t seen that yet. We had to adjust to that,” he said.

Suffield has benefited from a strong junior class, including twins Summer and Sienna Potvin.

“I think Sienna had 24 kills,” the coach said. “We look forward to more from her.”

Junior Kyah Quitno has also contributed more than 20 blocks so far in just nine games.

The pivot point of the in-sequence serve-returns will be a focal point as Suffield continues to improve.

“We’re working on our setters, because that’s where we’re young and new. We had a setter graduate last year who had been the varsity setter for three-and-a-half years, so we’re kind of re-finding our roots,” he said. “But, they’re doing well, we’re swinging well, and playing good defense.”

Windsor fell to 5-2, but the season is already looking like an improvement on last year’s record of 9-10, followed by a tournament win over New London before being knocked out of the bracket in the second round by Bristol Eastern.

Coach Robert Oakley said his team worked hard in preseason practices and scrimmages, and has continued that effort this season.

Senior Allison McGovern has lead the team at the net, and fellow senior Tahjae Daley has been a presence on the offense. Defensively, libero senior Aleyna Romero has risen to the occasion, the coach said.

“She’s really putting in the work. Really scrapping, and really getting us in a lot of plays to recycle points, and get it to the other side,” he said.

Work going forward for the Warriors will be sharpening up the hitting and developing more on-court awareness.

“There’s always a next step, but we’ve really been working on our swings, and our defensive IQ and positioning,” Oakley said. “Next thing is blocking and getting that next-level coordination with our new, first-year setter, Skylar Williams. She’s doing a great job, and we’ve got a lot of new tools in our arsenal. We’re putting the pieces together to run a consistent offense, the way we want it too look.”

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