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10/31/2021 12:00 AMAfter posting 14 victories during the regular season, the Branford girls’ volleyball team won its opening contest in the SCC Tournament by sweeping Lauralton Hall in a first-round matchup last week. As his team continues through the postseason, Head Coach Mike Martone wants the Hornets to focus on what they do well and embrace the pressure of the playoffs.
Branford finished its regular season by splitting a pair of road matches. On Oct. 25, the Hornets earned a 3-1 (25-14, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22) win at Foran. Senior captain Marzia Johnson had 21 kills with four aces, while junior Allie Bietz dished out 29 assists to go with four digs and three kills for Branford. Junior Paige Kelly recorded seven kills with a block, and sophomore Maddie Lawler had nine kills, three aces, and two blocks.
Three days later, the Hornets took a 3-0 (25-10, 27-25, 25-22) road loss versus Coginchaug in their regular-season finale. Johnson had 16 digs with one assist, one kill, and one ace in the match. Bietz posted 12 assists to go with two aces, two digs, and one kill. Despite the defeat, Branford ended the regular season with an excellent record of 14-5.
“This team is a strong unit. There are no superstars. They play even across the board,” Coach Martone said. “If they get a little out of sync, we could lose that way, but when they’re really clicking, they’re really hard to beat. They’re good on both sides of the ball. They demonstrated how good they could be and what could happen if they’re not locked in.”
The Hornets entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and hosted No. 13 Lauralton Hall in the first round on Oct. 30. Branford won the match in three sets by the final tally of 25-19, 25-21, 25-23 to improve to 15-5 overall. The Hornets were down 16-6 in the third set, but battled back to get the victory, led by some stellar serving from Bietz.
“It was good. They were very excited about it,” said Martone. “In the third game, we were down a good amount. They got a little tight. They were able to bounce back and win it, which was pretty impressive. We had a lot of good serves by Allie and played really well to close out the match.”
Bietz finished the match with 29 assists, six digs, four aces, one kill, and one block. Johnson had 21 digs with two aces and one assist, Kelly notched 11 kills and one block, and Lawler had three kills with two aces and two blocks.
Heading into the matchup, Coach Martone wanted to make sure that Branford stayed focused and continued playing the style of volleyball that made the team successful during the regular season.
“I just wanted them to play their game. I didn’t want them to do anything funny because the stakes were higher,” Martone said. “They’re good at understanding that it’s a little different. They put pressure on themselves, but they were able to keep each other pretty even.”
Branford is being led by senior captains Johnson, Peyton Giordano, and Molly Martone this season. The Hornets’ senior class also includes Parker Plourde, Nitya Bam, Lily Stockwell, and Kayla Krebs. Coach Martone said that all the seniors are key assets for Branford due to their solid leadership and ability to be true team players.
“Those three have really good attitudes. They balance each other and stay positive,” said Martone of the captains. “If they get in their own heads, they have each other to rely on and the other four seniors. We have a lot of good leadership on the team. They’re good team people.”
Outside of the seniors, Coach Martone has been impressed with the performance of Kelly and Bietz in the junior corps. Kelly moved from outside hitter to the middle this season and is proving a dominant force. Bietz moves all over the court as the Hornets’ setter and has become a vocal leader.
Coach Martone attributes much of Branford’s success to the effective communication on the squad. Martone said the Hornets have been communicating well on both offense and defense and cam score from anywhere on the floor.
“Their communication skills are outstanding. When they’re playing at the top of their game, they’re putting lots of shots to the floor from all spots on the floor,” Martone said. “They transition defense to offense really well and put points away.”
Branford played an SCC quarterfinal game at No. 1 seed Cheshire on Nov. 2 (after press time). With a win, the Hornets would face the winner of top-seeded Cheshire and No.8 Guilford in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 4. The SCC final takes place at West Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m.
Following SCCs, Branford will compete in the Class M State Tournament. The tournament begins on Monday, Nov. 8 and culminates with the state final at East Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 20.
As his club looks to continue on its postseason run, Martone wants the Hornets to stay within themselves, focus on their technique, and enjoy their time in the playoff spotlight.
“It’s going to take a unified attitude of what the expectations are gameplay wise and teamwork wise,” Martone said. “They haven’t been in this position before. It could be unnerving if you’re trying to win. We’re going to play our game and play to the best of our ability.”
The Branford girls’ volleyball team’s roster features senior captains Molly Martone, Marzia Johnson, and Peyton Giordano; fellow seniors Parker Plourde, Nitya Bam, Lily Stockwell, and Kayla Krebs; juniors Alena Annunziata, Caroline Johnson, Evelyn Kaiser, Allie Bietz, Sophia Warfield, and Paige Kelly; sophomores Sara Walstedter, Gracelyn McClain, Jenna DeFrancesco, Maddie Lawler, and Margaret Lam; and freshmen Sailor Plourde, Julia Burton, Riley O’Brien, Sophia Santos, Olivia May, and Madison McClain.