Coventry Too Much for East Hampton

Coventry showed why it is undefeated this season and a five-time defending champion.

East Hampton stood toe-to-toe with the Patriots through the midway point of the second match, but Coventry’s aggressiveness at the net and with its serve dominated from there, sending the Bellringers to a 25-17, 25-11, 25-10 defeat in a Class S girls’ volleyball semifinal match on Wednesday night in Hartford.

"We played with a lot of heart tonight," East Hampton coach John Post said. "We never gave in."

No. 2 seed Coventry (21-0) will meet No. 13 Northwest Catholic (16-6) in the title game on Friday. The Indians defeated Seymour 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 in the other semifinal on Wednesday night. It will be the ninth consecutive appearance in the Class S final for the Patriots.

Two days after eliminating previously unbeaten Terryville, No. 6 East Hampton took the court with the same heart and spirit that had helped them win 19 matches during the season. With a talented blend of seniors and underclassmen, the Bellringers dared to dream heading into its match with Coventry, but the challenge proved too great. Forget about the Patriots seeking their eighth title in nine years, or that since having their 84-match win streak ended by Southington in 2009, they haven’t lost since. It’s a bit more than that. Coventry also is playing for its former coach Matt Hurlock. It was Hurlock who built this program, who made it what it is. Hurlock passed away in July, losing his battle with cancer. He was 39.

The team belongs to Ryan Giberson now, and despite losing eight seniors off last year’s team, he has picked up where Hurlock left off.

Post knew what to expect.

“We were prepared. They were ready for this,” he said of his team. “You can’t make mistakes against a team like that. ... Their serving, their swinging, that’s a state championship team.”

The Bellringers hung tough in the first set, falling behind early but consistently making runs at Coventry, getting to within 16-14 before the Patriots pulled away for a 22-15 lead. In the second set, it was East Hampton that jumped out early, taking an 8-6 advantage when Coventry called timeout.

“They’re very defensive-minded,” Giberson said of the Bellringers. “Not a lot of balls hit the floor. They dive after everything. They’ll get a touch on everything no matter what. They’re going to make you earn your points. I give them a lot of credit.”

Coventry righted itself behind the serving of Nicole Uccelo, who had eight straight service points for a 15-8 lead. The Patriots' serving and strong net play by the likes of Marina Rose took over from there. Rose had 11 kills, 11 digs and 10 aces.

“We definitely teach them to serve aggressively. I have the philosophy if we can run off six or seven service points, I like that idea,” said Giberson, who lives with the downside to that strategy. “Our aces have gone way up from last year, so have our service errors.

“We don’t want to play not to make mistakes. We want to be aggressive. We want to make the other teams make mistakes and not be afraid to make mistakes on our own.”

Said Post: “Their serving really turned it on. They get you out of system quickly with that serve. We weren’t able to run our offense.”

Coventry took a quick 4-0 lead in the third set and increased it to 12-2. The problems East Hampton (19-4) posed early on had been solved.

“Sometimes matchups come into play,” Giberson said. “I think we did a good job of adjusting to their style of play and to make sure, no matter what, we were ready to play defense.”

As the end of the match drew near, Post took out his two seniors, Marissa Morassini and Ashley Chasse, who left to standing ovations.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls,” Post said. “My seniors, Ashley and Marissa, they’ve been here since the first day the varsity program started and they really built it up. They’re a huge part of where we were tonight.”

Chasse had 11 digs for East Hampton and Morasinni 10 assists. Julianne Toce had seven kills.

An appearance in the Shoreline Conference tournament final, a semifinal game in the Class S tournament … the Bellringers are close to where Post wants to take them. Despite the loss, it was another step in the right direction.

“We’re trying to build something here and this was huge for us,” Post said.

According to Post, 11 of his players, including both seniors, will participate in Husky Volleyball, a Junior Olympics club volleyball program, which will run from the end of November through April. Again, another step.

What’s most important for the future is that the foundation is set and a winning tradition has been established. With all but two Bellringers returning next season, optimism should be running high.

“There’s no moral victories,” Post said. “It’s rough, but I’m proud of our season. We fought every day. We worked hard and we never let up and I couldn’t be happier with the effort the girls gave this year.”