RHAM looking to add 3rd Crown to its collection
She was just a freshman at the time and not really a part of what happened, but Tessa Smolinski remembers the last time the RHAM High girls volleyball team lost a state tournament match.
“We got a bye and then we got beat 3-0,” Smolinski said of the Sachems’ Class L second-round loss to Mercy in 2006. “But back then I didn’t how much of a big deal a state championship was. That was the first year I had ever played.
“Now, going out with a win would mean so much. We’ve been together for three years and to win it all again would be amazing.”
Since that loss to Mercy, RHAM has shown little mercy to its opponents. It has compiled a 71-1 record with 52 straight wins and back-to-back Class M titles.
The unbeaten and top-ranked Sachems will go for a Class M three-peat when they take on No. 11 Joel Barlow today at 1 p.m. at Berlin High School.
For seniors Smolinski, four-year starter Kelsey Welling, Mallory Grosso, Chelsea Fenton, Ellie Linden, Kelsey Brault, and Allie Carlson, it will be their last match in a RHAM uniform. All have played a key role in the winning streak.
While there’s a feeling of sadness that it will be their last time together, the sense of anticipation and excitement of what could be means much more.
“It’s been special,” Welling said. “I know it’s our last match, but what better way for it to end than with a state championship.”
“We’re all best friends,” she added. “We hang out together outside of volleyball. We’re in a lot of the same classes. The chemistry we have is so strong. When one is down we’re able to pick each other up.”
RHAM rolled to the Central Connecticut Conference East and CCC tournament titles in its first year in the league. The only game it has lost in 24 matches was in the CCC final against Southington.
And when Southington won that game, it acted like it had won a state championship.
But the Sachems are used to that kind of reaction because it occasionally happens even when they lose a single point.
“Sure it’s annoying,” Smolinski said. “But, really, if they’re celebrating it makes us want to hit the ball at them harder.”
RHAM (24-0) coasted into the Class M final four with wins over Bacon Academy and East Catholic, but got a semifinal challenge from No. 4 Jonathan Law.
It was another sweep (25-23, 25-19, 25-22) but the Sachems had to earn it.
“It was nice to play good competition and show what we can do,” Smolinski said. “I think the semifinal match is the hardest one to win. To win a state championship you have to get to the final first. And even if you don’t win you have a good feeling that you made it that far.”
Don’t get Smolinski wrong. Victory is all that’s on her mind for Saturday.
“We’re very determined to get it done,” she said.
Joel Barlow (18-4) is seeking its first state championship. The Falcons have lost in three finals, including to RHAM in 2007.
They opened Class M play with a sweep of Tolland and then rallied from 2-1 down in games to win at No. 6 Avon. They got to the semifinals by sweeping host and third-ranked Seymour, and reached the final by beating No. 2 Sacred Heart Academy Wednesday 16-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-13.
The Sachems, though, are only concerned about themselves.
“I haven’t seen Barlow play and I would have liked to see them play,” RHAM coach Tim Guernsey said. “But I honestly believe that we’re one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the state. So if we play like we’re capable of playing, play our game, I like our side.”
Like his seniors, Guernsey has mixed emotions as they enter their final match.
“They’re phenomenal kids,” he said. “I don’t want to let it go, but it has to come to an end.”
All good things, it’s said, do come to an end. A perfect ending for the Sachems is just one win away.
By Carl Adamec
Journal Inquirer