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Hand Boys’ Volleyball Goes the Distance in SCC Final Loss to Cheshire

Playing in its fourth SCC Tournament final and its first since 2011, the No. 2-seeded Hand boys’ volleyball squad traveled to top seed Cheshire on May 27. Although the Tigers won the first two sets, Cheshire rallied for a hotly contested 3-2 victory to take its sixth conference title in the last eight seasons. Cheshire won with scores of 25-18, 25-27, 23-25, 25-15, 15-7. The Tigers had previously been swept in both of their regular season meetings against Cheshire on April 18 and May 9.

Leading the way for Hand in the championship match, Ben Haberman had eight digs, five kills, four blocks, and 27 assists; Alex Cinicolo added 11 digs, 13 kills, and four assists; plus Van Deusen tallied 13 digs, two kills, and a block.

The Rams (15-5) appeared to be in control early with a 25-18 win in the first set. However, the Tigers (10-10) stormed back with 27-25 and 25-23 victories to take a 2-1 edge on the night and sit one set away from their first conference crown.

Hand seemed to be in the driver’s seat early in the fourth set, but then Rams took a 10-9 advantage and outscored the Tigers 15-6 the rest of the way for a 25-15 win, setting up a decisive fifth frame.

In that final stanza, the Rams charged out to a quick 6-1 lead and later led 13-5. Hand staved off elimination for a few more points before the Rams shut the door with a 15-7 final.

Previously in the semifinal round on May 25, Hand earned a 3-1 victory over No. 3 seed Shelton at home. After the Gaels took the first set 25-23, the Tigers swept their way to the finals with 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 set scores in their favor.

Hand earned the No. 10 seed in the Class M State Tournament and traveled to No. 7 Enfield for the first round on June 1. The Tigers took a 3-1 loss (17-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-20) to finish 10-11 overall on the season.