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10/22/2013 12:00 AMOn a night of reflection and recognition, the Indians’ volleyball team got to punch its ticket for an extension on the current campaign.
Hosting East Haven on Senior Night on Oct. 21, Guilford pulled out a 3-1 victory for its eighth victory to guarantee the Indians bids to both the SCC and state tournaments. While Guilford won the first and third sets, 25-13, it clinched the postseason nod by taking eight of the final set’s nine points after a 22-17 deficit.
“This win was certainly what we needed, because it gets us into SCCs and states, lifts our spirits up, and gets us ready for the postseason” said senior co-captain Lynn Guibbory. “It helps bring us closer together, too.”
Guilford had further production amongst its eight seniors with 16 kills and eight digs from Sam Grinold, 30 assists and three aces from Kristen Urban, along with eight kills and two aces from co-captain Presley Altieri, who helped rally the Indians after their 24-26 second set defeat.
“We kept saying that this was our last home game, because we aren’t going to be at home for SCCs or states,” Altieri said. “I think that kept us motivated with mostly seniors on the floor to help pull out the win.”
Guilford (8-10) trailed the Yellowjackets (4-15) early in the opener, yet the home team pulled out five and three-point runs to lead, 10-4. East Haven did earn two straight midway through and get as close as five before the Indians pulled away for a 25-13 triumph thanks in large part to a late 6-0 swing.
“We saw a lot of good things out there tonight,” said Head Coach Rachel Martinich. “One thing we hadn’t been seeing but wanted to see tonight was a fire and drive to get the ball and be more aggressive; that was the goal of this game. We certainly saw spurts of that in the game.”
In the second, the Yellowjackets got out to an early 4-0 edge prior to later leading by seven. Guilford responded with five in a row to make it a 14-11 set as East Haven asked for a timeout, yet both teams exchanged consecutive tally runs with East Haven looking for match point at 24-20. The Indians, though, didn’t go quietly with four straight to knot the score before the Yellowjackets evened the evening at one set apiece on the next two points.
Responding to the loss, Guilford sparked right back up to rocket its way to a 21-7 command in the third. East Haven attempted a late comeback with five straight, but it wasn’t to be with another 25-13 Indians’ win.
The beginning of the fourth set appeared to indicate that the matchup was heading for a fifth. Guilford grabbed an early 5-4 lead, but it was the last edge it held until the very end, as East Haven went up 21-17 when the Indians asked for a timeout.
The break proved to aid Guilford, because after the Yellowjackets grabbed another tally to go up 22-17, the home squad rattled off seven straight to bring it one point from the postseason before officially entering it two points later.
“It means the world to these girls to get the win. It’s been a tough season for us with trying to be consistent,” said Martinich. “This win was nice because it takes the load off of them with now being in SCCs and states. It also gives us more confidence heading into tough games now.”
Guilford now concludes its regular season with two road matches versus SCC power Mercy on Wednesday, Oct. 23 and undefeated non-conference foe Ledyard the next day, yet Martinich feels her group is playing with house money after a slate that saw Guilford rebound following a 3-9 stretch after a 4-1 start.
“We have got nothing to lose. Mercy has the SCC’s No. 2 seed to lose and Ledyard has an undefeated season to lose,” Martinich said. “We just have to go into these games with nothing to lose and just say, ‘you know what? We are Guilford.’”
Guibbory agreed with her coach on the fact that once you are in the dance, it’s anybody’s shot to earn a title.
“Now that we are in the postseason, our mindset is that we have nothing to lose,” Guibbory said. “We restart with a clean slate. We have to be ready for both tournaments and play our hardest.”
Guilford’s seniors that were honored on the night also included Annie Casley, Morgan King, Katherine Triebel, and Elena Pensa.