Darien Volleyball Spikes Rival Rams

The Darien girls volleyball team defeated rival New Canaan in straight sets Monday evening in an early-season battle of unbeatens.

Dropping the Rams 25-13, 25-15, and 25-15, the Blue Wave won their 52nd consecutive match to improve to 3-0, while New Canaan fell to 2-1.

Darien led wire-to-wire in the first two sets but faced a more competitive New Canaan team in the third, as the Rams jumped out to a 9-7 lead. The Wave responded with a six-point run, however, and quickly closed out the match.

"We were a little slow today," Wave captain Mackenzie Begley said. "I don't know why, but we were."

Darien posted a 25-0 record in 2009 and—for the second time in school history—went the entire season without losing a set. But the Blue Wave already dropped a set this season in its previous match against Ridgefield.  

An all-FCIAC pick, Begley is the only returnee from last year's squad, as the "Two Trees"—a pair of six-foot-plus players in Colby Billhardt (now at UConn) and Sarah Gorski (now at Gettysburg)—have graduated.

The Wave is less experienced this year, featuring only three seniors. Still, the team boasts good athletes, and their passing game is smooth and efficient. 

New Canaan has just two seniors, co-captains Ellen Trinklein and Melissa Tweed.

"We played hard," Trinklein said. "Coming back in the last set was good for us, and we hope to build on that." 

"I thought we came together as a team in the third set and that our young talent was aggressive all the way through," New Canaan coach Katie Campbell added.

Junior Katie Stueber had six aces, six kills, two blocks, and four digs for Darien.

Begley contributed 26 assists, two aces, and five digs, while sophomore Kelly Kosnick chipped in with six kills, two blocks, and a pair of digs.

Darien's next game is at home against Norwalk on Wednesday (4:00 p.m.).