This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
09/17/2017 12:00 AMThe East Haven volleyball team is red hot to start the 2017 season after winning its first four matches without dropping a single set. In last week’s action, the Yellowjackets posted victories against Branford, Lauralton Hall, and Shelton to improve to 4-0 thus far this year. Considering those three victories came against teams the Easties lost to at least once last year, Head Coach Craig Brown knows how important this strong early stretch is for his squad.
“It’s nice, but we have to keep working,” Brown said. “We have the four seniors, and I believe all four have played at least three years of varsity. They have the experience and can go as far as they’d like to go.”
The Yellowjackets’ first match last week came on Sept. 11, when they swept rival Branford by a 3-0 final (25-7, 25-15, 25-17) at home. Senior captain Kylie Schlottman had 12 kills and four aces in the victory, while Jessica Stettinger recorded five kills with an assist, and Julia SanGiovanni had four blocks and four aces.
Senior captain Summer Onorato said that she can see how much her club has grown throughout her tenure as the Easties try to make this season their most special yet.
“We’re just growing. From our freshman year to our season year has been such a change. I think we can continue to grow each and every day,” Onorato said. “We all come to practice every day and work our hardest for two-and-a-half hours to do what we can.”
After defeating Branford, the Yellowjackets went on the road and netted a 3-1 triumph versus Lauralton Hall behind set scores of 25-23, 25-21, and 25-10. Schlottman posted 10 kills and three aces, Onorato had eight kills and three aces, and Isabella Ragaini finished with 22 assists and four digs for East Haven
Coach Brown said that his athlete’s ability to get along with each other and work well together has played big part in yielding so much success to start the year.
“They like to have fun,” he said. “When they fall down, they’re not afraid to pick themselves back up and keep on playing.”
East Haven wrapped up last week with a decisive 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-10) victory against Shelton on its home floor. Onorato led the way with nine kills and four digs, Ragaini contributed 21 assists with six digs, and Schlottman added eight kills and three digs.
Schlottman feels pleased that all the hard work she and her teammates have put in this year is already showing up on the floor.
“We all played summer league and conditioned for three days a week, so this feels amazing,” said Schlottman. “We have to make sure everyone doesn’t get too hot-headed about everything and we stay humble. We need to continue working hard in practice.”
Coach Brown has shared that message with his players, and they seem to have heard it loud and clear. With the likes of Hand, Hale-Ray, Woodland, and Amity on its schedule this fall, East Haven won’t have much room for error in its upcoming contests. In last week’s win against Shelton, Brown said he didn’t like how close the second set was, and felt that East Haven might not have come away with a victory if they were playing one of Connecticut’s premier teams.
“[Shelton] had a lead at one point,” Brown said. “We need to make sure we can turn things around consistently and always stay in the plus.”
Still, Brown was happy to see the Yellowjackets defeat Shelton after losing to them twice a season ago. Brown feels that victories like that one stir up more excitement in the program.
“It’s nice. They have a good coach who has taken them to a few state championships and has won some conference titles,” Brown said. “For us to take a win is great for our program. Hopefully, everybody will want to be a part of it in the future.”