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10/31/2011 12:00 AMThe stands were filled and the crowd truly showed its support on Oct. 26 for East Haven volleyball's final match of the season. The gymnasium was decked out with blue and yellow in honor of graduating seniors Crystal Mansi, Kelsie Davins, Katie Oca, and co-captains Gabby Didiano and Adrianna Tomasello. Although they knew it would be a tough match against an undefeated Cheshire team, the Easties played exciting volleyball before ultimately dropping a 25-8, 25-14, 25-11 decision.
"We played all five seniors and with every point of all three sets they played their hearts out," said Head Coach Craig Brown, whose team previously defeated Hand 3-2. "It's always tough playing with the emotion of Senior Night, being as it's their last high school match, but also doing it against the SCC tournament No. 1 seed Cheshire only makes it that much tougher. Despite all that, the seniors showed a lot of heart and played well."
Oca hustled around the court with six assists as she continued to set up nice plays for the Yellowjacket attack. Tomasello led the stats with four kills and six digs, followed by Mansi with four kills and four digs. Cheshire took the edge with powerful serves as they brought in nine aces, making it very difficult to break the Rams' serves. But East Haven continued to stay strong on defense as the rallies progressed with longer set points and impressive saves. Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, many points were given to Cheshire due to unforced errors on their part as many shots landed out of bounds. Nonetheless, Didiano (1 kill, 4 digs) was a leader on the court as she continued to motivate her teammates with remarkable plays. Mansi also used great strategy against the Cheshire defense, excelling at the net with light touches into open spaces. Brown stayed very active in the match, guiding the girls from the sidelines.
"We went into the game with a mindset to just have fun," said Didiano. "The seniors got to play all around and we just enjoyed ourselves despite the score."
Extended rallies in the first set showcased great teamwork on both sides of the court. Although they came out cold, East Haven picked it up in the second set, keeping the game in tighter competition as points went back and forth. Cheshire took control scoring six consecutive points until a long rally led by Davins (2 kills, 3 digs) ended with a slam of the ball into Cheshire territory, scoring another point for East Haven as the crowd went wild. Mansi served an ace as motivation jolted the Yellowjacket squad, but the highly-skilled Cheshire team proved why it's the first seed, sealing the win in the third set with its unstoppable power shots.
Regardless of the loss, the Yellowjackets were proud to have had such great support from their fans, who held signs and took pictures during the match Reflecting on their final season, the athletes learned a lot from first-year coach Brown.
"It was definitely a little difficult at first, adjusting to a new coach and a totally different system of volleyball," said Didiano."But we changed our whole way of playing to a more college essence. Although our record doesn't look so successful, I think we learned a lot about the game and how to play together."
Overall, the Yellowjackets' girls enjoyed themselves on their Senior Night as they continued to laugh and smile in between points.
Said Brown: "This was my first East Haven senior class and I can only hope that the girls that follow show the same great qualities as these girls did."
Earlier in the week on Oct. 24, the squad travelled to Hand's gymnasium for a thrilling five-set battle. The Yellowjackets played hard, beating Hand for the second time this season with both matches going five sets. The match ultimately ended with East Haven on top 3-2 with set scores of 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19, 15-10. It was an impressive win for the Easties, who were led by senior Katie Oca with 10 assists and three digs, while junior Elise Tomasello came through with 12 digs as she continued to keep the ball alive in crucial situations. Alysha Ciscone had five digs and Amanda Bradley showcased her talents with eight assists, nine kills, 17 digs, and three blocks. Bradley came up with a kill and was two assists short of a triple-double.
"Earlier in the season, we beat Hand 3-2 at home and so we went into this match hoping to get the same result and we got it," said Coach Brown. "Elise Tomasello, Alysha Ciscone, and Kelsie Davins held the defensive side down for us, totaling a combined 21 digs. More than anything, captain Adrianna Tomasello kept the team focused on playing hard for the win despite East Haven dropping the first set."
Tomasello totaled one kill and nine digs, but the finisher was Crystal Mansi, who with the game at 7-6 in the fifth set, jump-served eight straight points to put the Yellowjackets comfortably in the lead. Mansi also finished with nine kills and five digs.