Gaelettes blank Spartans (Updated)
Written by Mike Suppe, Assistant Sports Editor
Thursday, 20 October 2011 12:05
The Shelton High girls volleyball team completed a season sweep over Southern Connecticut Conference Housatonic Division rivals Amity High on Oct. 12, posting a 3-0 victory in Woodbridge.
Bolstered by 18 kills and eight digs from Katie DiRenzo, the Gaelettes cruised to a 25-13, 25-23, 25-15 road win to improve to 11-1 overall.
“I’m proud of the way we stayed on top,” Shelton coach LeAnne Bianchine said. “We continued to push, push, push.”
Amity fell to 7-6, losing its sixth match in nine starts following a 4-0 start.
“Shelton has an outstanding team,” Spartan coach Paul Thees said. “Tonight we knew were up against an outstanding team.”
Allison Denny led Amity with five kills, while Heather Gabriel notched 12 digs for Shelton. Setter Lauren McCone dished out 25 assists, teaming with DiRenzo to give the Gaelettes a dominant offensive combination.
“Lauren’s been doing a phenomenal job setting,” Bianchine said.
Said Thees:
“DiRenzo, at times, controlled the match with her hitting.”
Shelton charged out to a first-game win behind a fast start, with a pair of kills from DiRenzo helping the Gaelettes build a 7-2 margin.
After a Spartan timeout, Mikhalia Haluschak attacked the net to push the Shelton lead to 12-5, before Dana Blydenburg knocked in a shot to cut the Amity deficit to 17-12.
At 18-13, Shannon Bolton stepped to the service line for the Gaelettes and rattle of seven straight points to close out the game in Shelton’s favor.
DiRenzo capped the win by stuffing a Spartan shot at the net and hammering down a spike.
“Today, we showed we are a well-oiled machine,” Bianchine said.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair, with Amity grabbing a 13-12 advantage on Denny’s kill. A hitting error by Shelton and another point by Denny pushed the Spartan edge to 15-12, before Alyssa Eannotti’s block got serve back for the Gaelettes.
Gabriel took over serve and a booming kill from DiRenzo tied the game at 15.
Amity responded with Denny powering a kill between Haluschak and DiRenzo. DiRenzo then took a back set from McCone and smashed down a spike to tie the match at 18.
The teams traded points from there, with Alyssa Mirmina tipping in a shot for the Spartans and Ariel Toth tallying a kill for the Gaelettes.
“We got Ariel back which is nice,” Bianchine said. “My No. 2 (Gabriel) and my No. 8 (Bolton) stepped up and filled that spot very nicely... I appreciate their efforts.”
McCone’s push shot tied the game at 22, leading to an Amity timeout.
Shelton then scored three of the next four points to secure the victory, with the Spartans unable to return DiRenzo’s jump serve at 24-23.
In the third game, Shelton raced out to a 10-4 lead on Kelsey Pendagast’s serve. A block by Jessica Malinconico got serve back for Amity, before DiRenzo’s drop shot made it 15-10 Gaelettes.
The Spartans closed within 16-12, but couldn’t pull any closer. Shelton closed out the match with a 9-3 run to seal the victory.
“It was 16-12 and at that point, it just fell apart,” Thees said. “You can only do so much, you’ve got to want the ball.”
The Gaelettes host Cheshire High (13-0) on Friday at 6 p.m.
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