Fifth-seeded St. Paul entered the NVL girls volleyball tournament semifinal on Monday at Torrington High School as a definite underdog against top-seeded and undefeated Seymour.
In the first and third sets, the Falcons gave the Wildcats everything they could handle. In the end, Seymour (21-0) won, 3-0, and advanced to its 10th NVL final since 2004. St. Paul (14-8) was defeated, but the Falcons could hold their heads high after a strong effort. Set scores were 27-25, 25-11, 25-22.
Senior captain Kelsi Blatchley led St. Paul with eight kills and two blocks. Senior Olivia Genovese had four kills and 10 digs while junior Greta Panke added four kills and four digs.
Down 22-19 in the first set, the Falcons fought back to a tie at 22 behind Blatchley. Seymour grabbed the next two points and was one point away from a first set win. St. Paul came back again, and a kill from Genovese tied the set, 24-24. The Wildcats went ahead by a point and were again one point away from taking the first set, but a hitting error tied the score, 25-25.
St. Paul had its bench and fans behind the bench fired up, but Seymour won the next two points and the set, 27-25. The Wildcats have lost only two sets in NVL matches all season, and both came against NVL final opponent Naugatuck last week.
After losing the second set, 25-11, the Falcons battled in the third set. St. Paul fought back to a one-point deficit at 11-10, 13-12 and 14-13, then closed to within two points at 23-21 and 24-22. One final hit from NVL most outstanding senior Faith Rousseau gave the Wildcats the last point, the set (25-22), and the match.
St. Paul will find out who it is playing in the Class S state tournament, along with when and where, on Friday. That’s when the CIAC pairings are released.
Photo caption: St. Paul huddles during a timeout in the third set of Monday’s NVL semifinal match at Torrington High School. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
