The Brookfield girls volleyball team had a chance to take the opening game of their match against Pomperaug on Wednesday night but were unable to come up with the winning point. Following the tough 26-24 opening game loss, the Lady Panthers took game two easily 25-15 and then overcame an early deficit in the third game to rally for a 25-20 win and the 3-0 victory.
“Tonight, I think if we are able to get that first win in that first game that would have made a big difference,” Brookfield head coach Sherry Morgan said of dropping the first game when the team had a chance to serve it out at 24-23. “We haven’t beaten Pomperaug in awhile, numerous years, and if they could have gotten that first win it would have given them a big boost of confidence.”
Morgan is taking over the varsity team after being the JV coach. Brookfield enjoyed its best season in recent memory last year, qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in 16 years. This year's team features some key players from last season but also has a large group of players who have moved up from JV.
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“The girls are still learning how to play together,” Morgan said. “Sometimes they play really well, sometimes there are little miscommunications. But overall they are really doing well.”
The team is relying heavily on senior captains Wendi Westmark and Meghan Heron to be team leaders. Both have gotten off to good starts to the season, as the team has opened by going 1-2 on the road.
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“They’ve been great, tremendous leadership,” Morgan said of her captains trying to bring the younger players along. “We have Kristen Dorrell, another senior, she has been really good on defense for us. It helps having kids coming back from last year.”
Brookfield was coming off a thrilling 3-2 win over New Fairfield on Monday. They won the first two games of the match before dropping the next two against the Lady Rebels. They fell behind early in the decisive fifth game before rallying for a 15-12 win and their first victory of the season.
“That was the difference against New Fairfield,” Morgan said of her team being able to get the first win and then backing that up with tight 26-24 win. “We were able to get over the hump and I think a team like this that is inexperienced, you need that.”
The Lady Bobcats were led by Westmark who had 12 kills and 10 digs, and Heron who had 10 assists and five kills in the victory. The team also received strong performances from juniors Candice Cobuzzi and Giuliana D’Arcangelo. Cobuzzi had 11 kills and D’Arcangelo had 12 assists.
In Brookfield’s season opener they lost 3-0 at Lauralton Hall. The team almost forced a fourth game but fell 25-22 in the third game after being beaten handily in the first two games.
Westmark had 10 kills and Heron had 11 assists in the loss.
The team continues its long road trip to open the season, playing at Notre Dame-Fairfield on Thursday and at Oxford on Tuesday. They will finally play in front of their home crowd on Friday of next week following the first five games away.
