Printer Friendly Version - East Haven Volleyball Reaches SCC Quarters; Girls’ Swimming Wins Finale

Senior Eliza Goldberg (middle) had 11 kills when the East Haven volleyball team defeated West Haven in the first round of the SCC Tournament. Also pictured for East Haven are No. 12, senior captain Samantha Schlottman (left) and No. 10, senior Bella Ragaini. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The East Haven volleyball team started off the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament by winning its opening match of the draw last week. On Nov. 1, the 8th-seeded Yellowjackets earned a 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-21) home victory over No. 9 seed West Haven in a first-round match to advance to the quarterfinals and improve to 11-8 overall.

Senior Eliza Goldberg recorded a match-high 11 kills for the Easties against West Haven. Junior Carly Cordova finished with seven kills and five digs, while fellow junior Kayla Goodrich had six aces with two digs in the victory.

East Haven went up against top-seeded Guilford in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 5 (after press time). The semifinals are on Thursday, Nov. 7, and the final will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. at East Haven High School.

Prior to competing in SCCs, East Haven wrapped up its regular season by splitting a pair of contests. East Haven took a 3-0 loss to Cheshire on Oct. 28 and then bounced back with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) victory versus Cross two days later. Goldberg had nine kills for the Yellowjackets in the win against Cross. Senior captain Samantha Schlottman and junior Taylor Salato finished with five kills apiece.

Following the SCC Tournament, East Haven will compete in the Class L State Tournament, beginning with a first-round match on Monday, Nov. 11.

The East Haven-Wilbur Cross co-op swim squad finished its regular season by notching a 99-71 victory against West Haven in a home meet on Oct. 28. The Yellowjackets completed the regular season with a record of 2-9.

Prior to the meet, the Yellowjackets honored seniors Alaiana Robert, Becca Flynn, Syreena Melendez, and Juliette Ranelli, along with junior Angelica Blaze, who is moving out of town and won’t be with the team next season. Following the ceremony, Head Coach Leanne Boisvert’s team went out and defeated the Blue Devils to get their second win of the year.

“Throughout the season, our team has had many close meets, and we have pushed ourselves to be better than we were the day before,” Coach Boisvert said. “Looking at our team from the first meet to the last, I can proudly say that my girls pushed themselves to greatness, and it paid off in the end.”

The Yellowjackets are competing at the SCC Championship this week. The team also has three qualifiers so far for the upcoming Class LL State Championship.

East Haven capped off its regular season on a four-game winning streak after posting a 4-1 victory over Hamden last week. The Yellowjackets have a record of 7-6-3 heading into next week’s Class L State Tournament.

The Easties went to Hamden and defeated the Green Dragons by the final score of 4-1 on Oct. 28. Head Coach Jake Hackett said that East Haven executed its game-plan well on its way to getting the victory. Freshman Gianna Mendez netted a hat trick to lead the Yellowjackets to the win. Junior captain Bella Pilato added a goal via a penalty kick for East Haven.

The Class L State Tournament gets underway with qualifying-round action on Saturday, Nov. 9, followed by first-round play on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

East Haven lost a pair of recent contests to finish its regular season with a record of 1-15.

Two days later, East Haven lost to Platt Tech by a 4-1 final in a road game. Senior captain Alejandro Sanchez scored the Yellowjackets’ goal in the game. Sanchez lined up a free kick from about 40 yards out and placed the long drive between the outstretched arm of Platt Tech’s goalkeeper and the crossbar.