The first two outings were not what the Woodstock Academy volleyball team wanted. But they were hardly a surprise.
The Centaurs, who have won 47 matches and lost five over the past two seasons, got off to a 0-2 start with losses to Coventry, 3-2, and Greenwich, 3-0, Sept. 13 and 14.
“I would say expected,” said Woodstock Academy coach Adam Bottone of the losses. “What people don’t realize was how important the three seniors who played a lot, Sammie (Orlowski), Natalie (Low) and Maddy (Gronski), were to the team. A lot of teams probably thought that we relied solely on Paula (Hernandez). This is a clear indication that while she is a phenomenal player, no question. The other girls were instrumental in the success we had over the last two years.”
Orlowski was the setter, Gronski the Libero and Low was the outside hitter.
Bottone tried in the preseason to solve one problem by moving Hernandez over to setter to better get his other players involved.
The experiment was short-lived.
In fact, it never found its way into a regular season match.
Hernandez is back on the outside.
“Paula setting seemed like the logical choice, but as things went, we realized that we had to make some changes because we had to pass better,” Bottone said.
Obviously, that created another issue. Who would take over for Hernandez at setter?
Bottone decided to move up his new Libero, junior Marissa Mayhew, into that spot.
That left a hole on the defensive back line so Bottone moved senior Katie Papp from middle hitter to Libero.
“We’re slowly getting the pieces together, it’s just a matter of making things work together the way they should,” Bottone said.
It’s going to take time. And Bottone has to do so without the team getting frustrated.
“How are the girls going to respond to that fact that nothing will come easy? We’ve identified the issues we have, the problems we need to correct and have put a lot of time into doing that and not just solely relying on ability,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs had their chances against the Patriots Sept. 13.
It’s just they lost the one set that counted most.
Woodstock Academy won the first set, 25-18, and the third, 25-20.
But the Centaurs lost in the second and fourth by the same score, 21-25, and were bested in the decisive fifth, 13-15.
The key to that match was the passing game. The Centaurs were unable to receive service, Coventry was the opposite, even though Woodstock Academy was pretty good behind the line.
“Coventry was a phenomenal passing team out of receive and their defense was insane- they dug everything. I haven’t seen a team dig Paula like that – ever,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs hung in with a pretty effective service game which helped set Hernandez who got 84 swings and 26 kills. She added 28 digs for the Centaurs.
Mayhew added 26 assists and Gabby Garbutt had 14 service points.
Greenwich, the 2017 Class LL state champ, was even tougher.
The hosts downed the Centaurs, 25-20, 25-15, and 25-23.
While Woodstock Academy was able to get the ball to Hernandez often against Coventry, it was not the case against Greenwich.
The Centaurs struggled on the receive – “We couldn’t pass the ball to save our lives,” Bottone said - and Hernandez was limited to 10 kills.
Bottone had a chance, on the long bus ride home, to take a look at some of the stats and found one that was particularly distressing.
The Centaurs only got a side out on 36 percent of their chances and on first-ball opportunities, something the program prides itself on, had only a 12 percent success rate.
Numbers like that do not produce victories. Hernandez added eight service points while Mayhew added 10 digs and Papp had eight.
There is something to be happy about. The Centaurs did get 93 percent of their service chances against Coventry and 88 percent against Greenwich.
And something to be concerned about. In addition to correcting the receiving/passing game, Bottone has to get the team in a proper frame of mind as the season progresses.
“You can tell that they are out there, struggling, the affect is not a positive one. The bench is quiet. The girls on the court are quiet. They are not talking to one another. When you have the record we had the last two years and, suddenly, you are 0-2, it’s how do you change the mindset and really drive home that we are capable of it and have the skill to do it? We’re working through new positions and people have to be OK with coming out of the game if they’re struggling. The first half of the season is not only developing the skills, but the team camaraderie again. That will be a really big part of whether we succeed or not this year,” Bottone said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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