The East Haven girls’ volleyball team enters the 2021 season with a youthful roster that features just two seniors. In order for his team to be successful, Head Coach Craig Brown said that the Yellowjackets have to concentrate on the mental side of the sport and focus on playing East Haven’s brand of volleyball.

After taking a loss to Branford during the first week of the season, the Easties had three matches on their schedule last week. East Haven dropped contests against North Haven and North Branford, but then bounced back to get a win against West Haven and improve to 1-3 on the year.

The Yellowjackets put their first win in the books by claiming a 3-1 home victory versus West Haven on Sept. 17. The Yellowjackets lost the first set, but ultimately won the contest by final tally of 22-25, 27-25, 25-17, 25-17.

Senior captain outside hitter Magdalena Barthel had 12 kills with five digs and three aces for East Haven. Senior captain setter Kayla Stefania handed out 25 assists in the victory. Junior outside hitter Adriana Franceschi had eight kills and four digs to help the Yellowjackets prevail.

Coach Brown was pleased to see East Haven shake off its losses from earlier in the week and piece things together to defeat the Blue Devils.

“It’s always nice to get the first one under your belt. You play a little bit looser and a little bit more confident,” Brown said. “Especially this year, we have a lot of younger players in the lineup. It’s nice to get a little bit of confidence and, hopefully, it’s something we can build off of and continue progressing through.”

Prior to facing West Haven, the Yellowjackets took a 3-0 road loss against North Haven on Sept. 14. Barthel had six kills for East Haven in the match.

The following day, East Haven was on the road to play North Branford and dropped a 3-2 decision to the Thunderbirds. Barthel recorded 12 kills, while Franceschi had nine kills for the Yellowjackets. Junior middle blocker Jessica Urban had three kills with two blocks.

Barthel and Stefania are leading East Haven as the team’s senior captains this season. Coach Brown said that both players provide great leadership for the Easties and are essential parts of what his squad is trying to do on offense.

“Kayla is running our offense right now. The setter for us is the equivalent to the quarterback in football. The offense runs through her completely. The better she does, the better everyone looks,” said Brown. “Magdalena is our primary offensive weapon. She opens everything up and allows other players to be complimentary options.”

Coach Brown has also been impressed with the performance Franceschi thus far this year. Franceschi had limited varsity experience heading into the season, but has become a regular as a junior and is filling numerous different roles for the Yellowjackets, both offensively and defensively.

Of the 20 players on this year’s roster, only six of those players are either seniors or juniors. In addition to Franceschi, East Haven’s junior class includes middle blockers Alice Stettinger and Urban, as well as setter Nicole SanGiovanni.

Sophomore Ava Avena is starting as an outside hitter for East Haven with freshman Alexa Heaphy playing the libero position. Avena trained all offseason to play setter for the Yellowjackets, but was willing to play a new position if needed, and is now excelling at outside hitter. Heaphy is also faring well for East Haven in her first year of playing varsity volleyball.

Coach Brown said that the 2021 season is about building confidence for the Yellowjackets’ younger players. Brown wants them to understand what it takes to thrive at the highest level, along with how to rebound from any struggles.

“It’s going to have some rough moments. We went 0-3 to start the year. It’s a building process, building confidence and understanding that things aren’t always going to go your way,” said Brown. “We’ve just got to be willing to fight, bounce back, and be willing to make adjustments.”

Coach Brown said that East Haven typically fields an undersized team. Consequently, Brown is putting an emphasis on strong serving and defensive intensity with this year’s club. Brown wants to the Yellowjackets’ defense to throw the opposing team off of its game then turn that momentum into some offense.

“We want to be as perfect as possible on serves and as annoying as possible on defense,” Brown said. “We want the other team to become frustrated with our hitting and put some extra stress on them. That’s our goal not only this year, but pushing into the future.”

East Haven posted a record of 7-7 and reached the SCC Division C final during a shortened season last year. As the 2021 campaign unfolds, Coach Brown knows that the Yellowjackets must how learn how to adjust accordingly as they try to find their best path to success.

“Everybody is in the same boat around the state. We lost half a season of games and practices. There weren’t as nearly as many offseason opportunities,” said Brown. “We just have to make adjustments, whether it’s keeping things simple or advancing things on offense or defense. We just have to keep progressing until we’re at a place where we feel comfortable in what we’re doing.”

East Haven’s sophomore class also includes Brooke Ciscone, Nevaeh Caffalette, Mia Ponte, Nicole Brown, Cristina Fernandez, and Hayli Nuzzelillo. The Yellowjackets’ freshman class features Jayleen Crespo, Gianna Consiglio, Lily Saenz, Angelina Bellacicco, Mia Abely, and Gianna Buonocore.