Class M Volleyball: RHAM Wins Third Straight Title
With a 2-0 lead against Joel Barlow and his team down 24-20 in the third game and on the verge of losing only its second game all season — its first in the Class M tournament — RHAM coach Tim Guernsey called a timeout. But there was no need to panic.
“That’s something we’ve done all year. We don’t ever give in,” Guernsey said. “We don’t ever break or get nervous. We know we can come back no matter what the score is. It’s something we work on all the time in practice.”
The top-seeded Sachems (25-0) came out of the timeout and scored the next six points — the final one on a hit from senior Tessa Smolinski — to win their third straight Class M title on Saturday.
The 11th-seeded Falcons did their best to keep it close — taking the lead in every game — but the floor coverage of RHAM proved to be too much.
“They’re very disciplined and they cover the court very well.” Joel Barlow coach Steve Antal said. “They serve very well, too. They only served two out and we served seven or eight out.”
RHAM’s success was due in large part to the serving of senior Kelsey Brault, who went 23-for-23, including the final five that finished off the third game. Fellow senior Jocelyn Taylor made it hard for the Falcons to attack with 11 blocks.
After dominating the first game 25-11, RHAM was pushed much harder in the next two games. Barlow (18-5) kept the second game close when it tied the score at 22 but three straight points by the Sachems ended the threat.
While most of RHAM’s seniors have been on two state championship teams, this one is different. This is one they can call their own.
“It means so much to everybody,” Smolinski said. “Coming back from last year we felt a lot of pressure.”
Smolinski finished her career with a 13-kill, 12-dig performance and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
RHAM only lost one game this season — in the CCC final against Southington.
“Last year we had the same group of girls and we got everybody back and everybody works hard. We come in for six o’clock in the morning practices,” Smolinski said. “We had a lot of confidence. We just go for it.”