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10/29/2017 12:00 AMThe East Haven volleyball squad is playing great at the right time of the year. After taking a 3-0 loss to Amity on Oct. 13, the Yellowjackets reeled off five straight 3-0 victories to close out the regular season and then rallied for a 3-2 win versus Shelton in the first round of the SCC Tournament.
“We are proud of the girls. We bounced back from a rough bump in the middle of the season to get back to what we were doing early in the year,” Head Coach Craig Brown said. “It started with our four seniors as they got back to catching their rhythm with our setter. Once they started clicking, we hit our stride.”
The Yellowjackets closed out the regular season by posting victories over Hand and Hale-Ray for a record of 16-4. On Oct. 23, East Haven topped Hand 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-15). Summer Onorato led the Easties with 12 kills, Kylie Schlottman added 11 kills, and Diana Kalman pitched in with eight. Onorato led the squad with five aces and also contributed nine digs. Isabella Ragaini did a great job of setting up her teammates, finishing the match with 35 assists. Defensively, Megan Roberts turned in a solid effort by posting a team-high 14 digs, with Schlottman and Ragaini adding eight apiece.
Three days later, East Haven topped Hale-Ray 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-11) in a non-conference contest. Once again, Onorato led the way with eight kills, while Schlottman, Kalman, and Julia SanGiovanni each had six kills. Onorato also had a team-high 15 digs, plus Ragaini handed off 26 assists.
The win versus Hale-Ray marked the fourth non-conference victory of the season for East Haven, which had previously defeated Haddam-Killingworth, Seymour, and Woodland.
“We’re trying to build up for a run in the State Tournament. The best way to get there is to compete against those that will be there with you,” Coach Brown said. “Historically, they’re all in the top five of their class every year. Those were good wins against good opponents. We hope to put that into a playoff run.”
East Haven opened SCC Tournament action as the No. 6 seed and hosted No. 11 Shelton on Oct. 28. The Yellowjackets lost the first two sets, but rallied for a 3-2 victory behind final scores of 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17, and 15-9. Coach Brown was thrilled with East Haven’s resilient effort against the Gaels in his team’s first playoff contest.
“We were down 2-0 off the bat and then down early in the third set. If we want to make a run, you have to be willing to play tough teams and keep pushing,” he said. “Our girls proved that, even down 2-0, the match isn’t over. We did that, and we’ll be playing again on [Oct. 30].”
East Haven, which defeated Shelton for the second time in three meetings this year, improved to 17-4 overall with the victory. Schlottman and Onorato led the charge with 14 kills each, while SanGiovanni added eight kills and three blocks.
“Like my kids said, it’s hard to play a team for a third time. [Shelton] came out and played the best match I’ve seen them play. They were flowing well off their setting and playing solid defense, and we just weren’t,” Brown said. “In the third set, we took a time out to catch our breath, and our seniors motivated each other. They took over, and everyone started rolling.”
East Haven will play at No. 3 seed Amity in the SCC quarterfinals at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30. With a win, the Yellowjackets would face the winner of Guilford and Branford in the semis on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The championship match is at East Haven High School at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.