East Hampton Girls Sweep Cromwell

The East Hampton girls’ volleyball team made it look easy Friday evening with a straight-set victory in Cromwell.

The Bellringers improved to 11-2 as they methodically put away the overmatched Panthers, 25-15, 25-8, 25-17.

“We were crisp today, we were in synch with each other,” East Hampton coach John Post said. “We were missing one of our players [Shayla Belanger], but Andrea Nease stepped up today and so did Lauren Randall into her space.”

It was the 10^th time this season East Hampton has won in straight sets. How does Post guard against his team losing focus during a match they seemingly have well in hand or perhaps before they even take the court against a weaker opponent?

“I will get on them if they’re not focused,” said Post, who did say it was easier to stay focused against a team such as Cromwell (4-9) as opposed to winless Hyde, who they beat on Wednesday. “It’s a lot easier for us this year to keep our focus because we’re taking everything one point at a time and we don’t get caught up on what just happened or what’s going to happen.”

Cromwell apparently played well enough to keep the Bellringers interested, competing hard for points and extending volleys, but in the end no set was ever in doubt.

Marissa Morassini had 26 assists and Katie Beem 11 kills in the match. Beam also had four aces in the second set.

Other than a well-earned victory, what can Post take out of a match such as this or like the win over Hyde?

“What I look for in a game like that, I’m not paying attention to what’s going on with the ball, more so our positioning,” he said. “Making sure we’re staying disciplined on defense, making sure our footwork is there. At that point I’m not watching the ball anymore, I’m watching where we are on the court and how we’re moving on the court. From there we take that into practice and make our adjustments.”

Overall, Post sounded more than pleased with the Bellringers’ effort.

“We were crisp. Didn’t look like we missed a beat,” he said. “We’re back to where we want to be.”

Which is good news. Though North Branford (1-12) might challenge East Hampton’s focus on Monday, Haddam-Killingworth (10-3) will present a challenge of a different sort on Wednesday, and that might well be for second place in the Shoreline Conference.

Think Pink on Monday

The Bellringers will support Dig Pink and breast cancer awarness during Monday’s home match against North Branford.

The girls will be wearing pink jerseys and pink socks and donations will be collected during the match.

What is Dig Pink?

Dig Pink is the Side-Out Foundation’s trademark name for its fundraising events. The Side-Out Foundation is a non-profit organization created in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches in the fight against breast cancer. The organization raises money that goes to support services, educating the public and providing treatment of the disease. All proceeds raised Monday will go to Side-Out.

Monday’s match starts at 5:30 p.m. Come on out and support the girls and the fight against breast cancer.