Spiked: Southington Dethrones Staples Boys Volleyball

All good things must come to an end.

The 101-match winning streak and four-year state title reign of the Staples boys' volleyball team came to a crashing end Friday night at Conard High in West Hartford.
 
Second-seeded Southington stunned the top-seeded Wreckers in a five-game thriller in the Class L final, winning the match, 10-25, 28-26, 25-23, 19-25, 15-11.

Staples suffered its first loss since 2006 and finished the season at 21-1.

"You always hope that a championship game is a real battle," Staples head coach Bruce Betts said. "This one went five great sets, and that's the way it should be when two great teams face each other. It's been our turn several times, but tonight it just wasn't our turn."

The Blue Knights (20-1) lost to the Wreckers in the previous three state championship matches, but this time around, Southington came out with an unwavering will to win that proved too much to overcome for the defending champions from Westport.

"We entered tonight with a passion and a determination that would not be denied," said Southington standout Brendan Charamout, who smashed his way to a staggering match-best total of 26 kills.

"We've been playing them (Staples) in the championship the past three years, and our senior class was focused on finally getting the job done. We played as hard as possible to make it happen, and it's a tremendous feeling to beat them."

Early indications suggested that Staples was well on its way to title city once again.

A convincing 25-10 first-set win sent the Wreckers crowd into a frenzy, but the wave of emotion and momentum would soon shift the way of the Blue Knights.

In the second game, Southington came out storming, notching a 9-2 lead, thanks to the thunderous kills of Charamount.

Two kills by Mikey Fitzgerald (10 kills, 21 assists, four blocks, 17 digs) chipped the deficit to 12-16 for Staples, but Southington eventually fought off Staples' steadfast comeback effort to claim an emotional 28-26 win to even the match at 1-1.

"We were up and down tonight," Fitzgerald said. "We had good times, and we had bad times, too. They (Southington) were playing at the top of their game all night, so we just seemed a bit out-matched."

Game three also went down to the wire, but unforced errors, a few errant Staples' serve  and the dominant net play of Charamount spelled another close defeat for the Wreckers , this time by a score of 25-23.

Facing a 1-2 deficit, the Wreckers came alive in the fourth game. Buoyed by the kills of Tom Prenderville, the service points of Daniel Hiawitschka, and the incredible digs of Andrew Glenn, the Wreckers fended off defeat by way of their 25-20 triumph.

"We worked hard out there, but it just didn't turn out the way we had planned tonight," Staples senior Andrew Glenn said.

The fifth and final game proved that the night would belong to the underdog Blue Knights.

Charamount continued to patrol the net with authority, while teammate Jeffrey Drogosek served with prowess to build an instant 7-2 advantage.

 Minutes later, Charamount destroyed a title-clinching kill through Staples' defense, and the Wreckers could only watch in disbelief as the Blue Knights' fans stormed the court at once.