GHS volleyball spiking its competition

Written by Paul Silverfarb
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 23:02

Every now and then, Greenwich High School girls volleyball head coach Steve Lapham has to pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming.

With the loss last year of Erika Videtto, Olanna Nissum and other talented athletes, this year’s volleyball team was supposed to be in a rebuilding mode. Only one player had significant varsity experience and three other starters were new to the sport.

However, with all the adversity, Big Red has yet to be affected. As of press time, the Cardinals have only two games to play in the regular season and are sitting pretty with an impressive 14-2 overall record.

“I am a bit shocked where we are right now,” Lapham said. “I was telling the girls at practice the other day how delighted I am with the way they’ve performed.”

Lapham said even the game against Ludlowe that the team lost could have been won if played “just a little bit better.”

“At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t expecting only two losses at this point of the season,” the coach said. “The possibility of getting a third seed in the tournament is fantastic and I was gearing more towards a seven or eight seed at the beginning of the year. I just wanted to get into the FCIAC and class LL tournament.”

Monday afternoon, the Cardinals battled Staples High School, with the winner of the game guaranteed the third seed in the upcoming Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournament. Greenwich came out on a mission and never looked back, beating the Wreckers 3-0 (25-10, 26-24, 25-18).

Senior co-captain Kate Centofanti finished the game with 15 kills and Kelsey Goodwin added 13 service points, five aces and nine digs.

Big Red started the season on fire, beating Bridgeport Central, Bassick and Wilton without giving up a set. Taking a 3-0 mark to its game that was an FCIAC championship rematch from last year against Darien, the Blue Wave came out and dominated Greenwich, winning 3-0.

At that point, it appeared the Cardinals were at a crossroad. They beat three fairly easy opponents and lost to one of the best teams in the state. The young and inexperienced Cardinals could have thrown up the white flag, resolved that they weren’t good enough to compete with the best teams in the conference, or they could have pushed harder than ever to prove that the Darien loss was only a fluke. Big Red chose the latter.

Although Greenwich won its next three out of four matches, Lapham said it was the match against Ridgefield that really helped set the table for the remainder of the season for the Cardinals.

“We had things pretty well against Ridgefield and let it slip away,” Lapham said. “We let it get to the fifth set and we were down 9-1. Usually you don’t come out of holes like that and they will at least side you out a couple of times; however, they didn’t and we won. It showed that we had some fight in there and wouldn’t quit. Although they are young varsity players, they believe in themselves.

“We came out strong and the girls have really gotten better and that’s what makes me, as a coach, happy. From the first couple of matches until now, we’re just a completely different team. The offense has shown signs of being perfectly clean with passes, sets and pounding it down.”

From that point on, Big Red hasn’t looked back. With only two games to play in the regular season, Greenwich has only given up one game in seven matches. With the victory against the Wreckers, Big Red assured itself a third-seed in the upcoming FCIAC tournament and a few home games in the class LL tourney as well.

“I think there is a little bit of ignorance as well with this team,” Lapham said, with a smile from ear-to-ear. “They didn’t know that they were supposed to be bad, especially coming off last season. It was our best year ever last year. However, the girls that are playing varsity now were practicing every day with that record-breaking team. They were used to that talent and it was a standard and no one told them they were supposed to lose this year.”

Greenwich has been led by the strong play of Centofanti. She’s been averaging 3.6 kills per game and 1.9 digs per game. She also has netted 118 points this season for an average of 2.3 points per game.

“We look to her whenever we need to get out of a jam,” Lapham said. “She’s got the ability to get up in the air and put the ball down.”

Goodwin has also stood out for her stellar play. She’s averaging 2.1 kills per game and 2.6 points per game. Goodwin also has 104 digs and 46 aces.

“Kelsey has run hot and cold in some games, but she’s not a quitter and is learning the game in one year,” Lapham said. “I think she’s doing an amazing job figuring the game out. Athletically she can do it all when she’s on. She can serve, spike, play defense and is one of our best serve-receivers.”

Greenwich’s libero, Hannah Statham, has been solid since taking over the position earlier this season. As of press time she has 1.9 digs per game and 81 receptions.

“Hannah is all over the floor for us,” Lapham said. “Nothing is going to get to the ground when she’s near it. That’s what you need in a libero back there. She’s great on defense and is the person we look upon to get the job done defensively.”

Michelle Vogt has been dominant in front of the net for Greenwich. She has 69 kills and is second on the team with nine blocked shots.

“Michelle has come on like a storm,” Lapham said. “Her hitting is starting to get scary good. She’s snapping the ball down, reaching high and we just need to get her up across the net a little bit more. She got the range and length, but I want her to tighten up her hands. If we’re playing quality opponents, I think she could get three blocks per game.”

Throughout the season, Lapham said that his young squad is always asking questions and looking to improve on its technical abilities.

“I think our transition from defense to offense is a lot quicker and smoother,” Lapham said. “Our passing isn’t at the top of the gym ceiling as much as it was and our serving is a lot more consistent since the start. We’re also speeding the game up a lot more.”

One of the keys to the team’s successful season starts in practice, as Lapham makes them very competitive.

“It’s a competitive world in volleyball and momentum is really a key, so if we can get them to grab onto that in practice, then it’s a lot easier in big games. They aren’t as nervous or scared during games.”

Starting Monday, the Cardinals will be competing in the FCIAC tournament and the Cards will host their first round opponent, which was still undetermined at press time. While Lapham knows the road to the championship isn’t a smooth ride, he said he still expects good things from his team come tournament time.

“Darien is the team out there that other teams watch out for,” Lapham said. “The middles are very good and are well coached. They will certainly be the favorite. If we play well, there’s no reason we shouldn’t get on to the finals and see what we could do against Darien. I can guarantee you we will play them a lot tougher than when we first saw them, if we have that chance.”

Not only has the team qualified for the FCIAC tournament, but Lapham expects his squad to make some noise in the class LL tournament. As of press time, the Cardinals were seeded fifth overall in class LL, just behind Fairfield Ludlowe High School. At the top of class LL is Southington High School, with a 15-1 record. Norwich Free Academy and Shelton High School are second and third respectively at 14-1.

“I’m hoping we can bounce through the first few rounds and get hot and serve well,” Lapham said. “If we could keep the pressure on the serve and play good defense, I think we could go deep in states and at least go into the quarters or semifinals.”

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