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10/13/2018 12:00 AMThe North Branford volleyball team earned its second victory of the season by posting a 3-2 home victory versus Old Lyme last week. The Thunderbirds also took defeats against East Hampton and Valley during the week and now have a record of 2-12 on the year.
First-year Head Coach Tori Ramada was happy to see her team get its second win this year and said the Thunderbirds have come a long way during these last few weeks.
“This has definitely been a transition year, but there has been a lot of improvement from everyone since the beginning of the season,” Ramada said. “Our record may not show it, but we’re getting there.”
Last week began with North Branford taking on Shoreline Conference opponent Old Lyme for a home match on Oct. 9. The T-Birds had previously defeated Old Lyme by a 3-1 score on Sept. 13, and Coach Ramada knew that the rematch was going to be a battle.
“We were looking forward to playing them again. I told the girls because we beat them before means they’d want to beat us,” said Ramada. “We didn’t take them lightly and they played us to the best of their abilities. We played a full five sets with them and it was very exciting.”
North Branford rallied from a two-set deficit to notch a 3-2 victory against the Wildcats behind final scores of 19-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18, and 15-8. Coach Ramada said she was impressed with the way her squad stormed back to complete its season sweep of Old Lyme.
“Typically, when you get beat in the first two sets, you get down on yourselves, but they did a great job of showing great teamwork. We were in it from points 1 through 25 and didn’t give up,” Ramada said. “It was such a great feeling to see the great work we’ve been doing come together in that game and get a successful home win for our fans.”
The home win was not only important for North Branford and its fans, but also for Coach Ramada. As a former player, she remembers what it was like playing on her home floor, and she hopes victories like this one amp up the atmosphere in the Thunderdome.
“I definitely thought it was important, because home games are where you see bigger crowds of people you know,” Ramada said. “I remember getting jitters before home games. I saw it from my girls in the first few games, but said we need to win at home. Now that we have one, it was a great feeling.”
Junior Sally Cucinotta recorded a team-high 17 kills for the T-Birds, who saw eight athletes chip in with at least one kill in the victory. North Branford also served up 15 aces, led by four apiece from senior captain Sam DeAngelo and junior Sophia Cavalier. Junior Katy Pedersen led the team with 14 digs, and Cucinotta added 12 digs. Cavalier finished the match with 14 assists for the Thunderbirds.
Coach Ramada said that balance is a key for her team and noted that a lot of athletes have had the chance to see time on the varsity floor this fall.
“I’m not a big fan of keeping a set rotation every game. There are those few players that play more because their talent is there, but I think I have 15 on my bench,” she said. “Games and players are different. There are good and bad days. Depending on that, I make switches when I need to. I tell the girls to be ready, because you never know. We’re a team. We need to work tougher and support each other.”
Following the victory versus Old Lyme, North Branford took 3-0 defeats against East Hampton and Valley Regional later in the week. On Oct. 10, the T-Birds dropped a 3-0 decision against East Hampton (25-15, 25-18, 25-15). Juniors Julia Ricardo and Lily Blomster each had three kills for the T-Birds. Pedersen posted a team-high 14 digs, while Ricardo contributed 11 digs. Cavalier finished with five assists, and junior Emily Cole added three assists for North Branford.
Two days later, North Branford took a 3-0 loss versus Valley Regional behind scores of 25-15, 25-17, and 25-15.
Despite the defeats, Coach Ramada feels pleased with the way North Branford is progressing and said that senior captains DeAngelo and Emy Stakaj and doing a great job of leading the squad.
“My captains have been doing so well being like second coaches out there,” said Ramada. “They push the girls to do their best and make sure everyone stays in it. They are two very good leaders.”
While Ramada will be sad to say good-bye to her two seniors at the end of the year, she feels encouraged by the fact that North Branford is going to have so many returning athletes back in the court in the 2019 season.
“Next year, I’m going to miss my two seniors, but we’re only losing two. I have 14 juniors on my team, so they’re all returning and hopefully improving,” Ramada said. “I definitely feel like we can only go up from here. We’re going to work together and we’ll be successful.”