The East Haven volleyball squad won its opening match of the Class L State Tournament last week, after which the Yellowjackets saw their campaign come to a close with a defeat in their second-round contest. The Easties earned a 3-2 win versus Naugatuck in the first round and then dropped a 3-0 contest against Barlow to finish the year with an overall record of 14-8.

Despite the defeat, Head Coach Craig Brown felt proud about the way East Haven competed throughout the year. Brown said he was pleased that his team achieved some of the goals he established at the outset of the campaign.

“The first goal of every season is to find eight wins to qualify for SCCs and states. We want to win a round of SCCs and we want to win a round in states, so we hit every goal,” Brown said. “We added goals as the year went on and to get 12 wins in the regular season and to win a couple of postseason games was great.”

In the first round of the Class L State Tournament, No. 18 seed East Haven hit the road to face No. 15 Naugatuck. The two teams played a thrilling match that saw the Yellowjackets rally for a 3-2 victory behind scores of 18-25, 25-20, 25-16, 18-25, and 15-10. The contest marked the third time that East Haven went the distance by playing a five-setter this year. Coach Brown’s club came away with the win on all three of those occasions.

“It’s just a spot where you have to win. We had a strong group last year come through, so the remaining juniors from that team were there to help in that process and wanted to step up and grab a win in the first round of states,” Brown said. “It’s just the will to win. We’ve been there in the past. This senior class won a lot of games and didn’t want to go out with that type of loss in the opening round. We made enough plays to win out and give us another round.”

Senior captain Diana Kalman stepped up in a big way by totaling 17 kills and five aces in the victory. Junior Eliza Goldberg had eight kills with two blocks, while sophomore Carly Cordova finished with eight digs. Coach Brown added that junior setter Bella Ragaini put forth a great performance for East Haven.

“Bella was huge for us, giving us a chance to run our offense, and Eliza took advantage of her blocking matchup to rally off a couple of points,” said Brown. “It really put us in the driver’s seat for our seniors to contribute.”

Brown said that the solid play of his senior veterans gave East Haven a leg up in its win against the Greyhounds.

“We just had to take care of our own business,” he said. “We knew they had a strong freshman class, but we knew we could take advantage of our experience throughout the course of the match.”

Unfortunately, the Yellowjackets were eliminated from the Class L bracket when they took a 3-0 (25-12, 25-4, 25-13) defeat at No. 2 seed Barlow in a second-round match on Nov. 8. Kalman had five kills, senior captain Megan Roberts recorded seven digs, and Cordova added four digs in the loss.

“They won their conference five of the past six years, and they’ve been a top team in Class L for as long as I can remember. They’re well-coached and came to perform on that night,” Coach Brown said of Barlow. “They serve very aggressively and run a fast offense. They attacked us and didn’t allow us to get into our defensive rhythm.”

From the Sidelines

The East Haven volleyball team’s Class L State Tournament roster featured senior captains Diana Kalman and Megan Roberts; fellow seniors Cameron Cordaway, Alannah Doheny, and Kelly Deko; juniors Bella Ragaini, Samantha Schlottman, Eliza Goldberg, and Alexia Dottori; and sophomores Gia Buonfiglio, Brooke Clancy, Carly Cordova, Tori Heaphy, Kayla Goodrich, Taylor Salato, and Megan Gaudioso.

Yellowjackets’ Head Coach Craig Brown was assisted by Kristina Serio this year.

East Haven had previously posted a record of 12-6 during the regular season. In the SCC Tournament, the Yellowjackets notched a 3-0 victory over Lauralton Hall in the quarterfinals and then dropped a 3-0 decision against Amity in the semifinal round.