Tim Guernsey answered the question like he’s been asked it a million time before.

No, the RHAM volleyball coach doesn’t know how many consecutive games his team has won.

Really.

“Nope,” he said, chuckling. “I have no idea. It’s for writers.”

He does, however, remember the last time the Lady Sachems lost — to Farmington in the Northwest Conference final.

In 2007.

Nearly three years and three state championships separate then and now. Fifty-three straight wins do, too.

But the streak is hardly a concern for RHAM, one of the state’s most dominant programs in any sport despite starting just eight years ago with a coach who never played the sport and in a town — Hebron — that loves its soccer.

Inside the RHAM gymnasium, there are blue banners signifying league championships and gold ones reserved for state titles. As one would expect, the only number on the gold ones is for the year, not that number of losses.

“People are going to come into the gym and they’re going to notice 2010, they won a state title,” Guernsey said. “Not that they had 10 losses or no losses.”

Nevertheless, they’ve been hard to come by at RHAM. The Sachems lost just one game (yes, game!) last season en route to their third straight Class M title. They rode big hitters in All-State selections Kelsey Welling and Tessa Smolinski, also the Gatorade Player of the Year, and a group of seven seniors well-versed in winning.

They’re gone, but in a program that’s quickly built a legacy of success, little else has changed.

Gold’s the goal. Again.

“In 2005, I had eight seniors on a team that went 18-2 and lost in the (state) quarterfinals. Then, it was six seniors (who graduated), then it was one senior, then it was this group with seven,” Guernsey said. “It’s been an every-other-year cycle.”

This season, just two seniors remain in outside hitter Chloe Rishell and middle hitter Jocelyn Taylor, the latter of whom was part of RHAM’s eight-person rotation a year ago. Like clockwork, seven juniors stand behind them, including Tessa’s sister, Laura, a setter; Kelsey Kirkpatrick, another middle hitter; and Kara Trippel, a libero.

Since they were freshmen, they “have been waiting to get into the limelight,” Guernsey said — like every other class.

“We’ve all kind of experienced it,” Rishell said of winning a state title. “But we’ve all been on the sidelines. I think the thing that is going to drive us most is we want to say we were a part of it.”

Guernsey does point to one difference this year. For the first time since he started the program in 2002 — and went 0-18 — RHAM lacks that knock-dead outside hitter in its 5-1 formation, someone who can take the ball anywhere on the net and leave a smudge mark where the floor used to be.

That moves the emphasis to defense and quicker passing, meaning RHAM will try to turn volleyball, a game essentially of mistakes, into a flawless act.

Good thing the Sachems have this perfection thing down. Even if they don’t know exactly for how long.

Backstage at the Gatorade Player of the Year Program, we’re constantly searching for what we call “three-pillar” candidates-those who possess athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character

We strike it rich with those contenders who seem to raise all three pillars a notch. RHAM (Conn.) High senior volleyball standout Tessa Smolinski was one of those candidates.

The 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter recorded 239 kills, 205 digs and 83 service aces this fall, leading Connecticut’s top-ranked team to a perfect 26-0 season and a third straight Class M state championship. Smolinski’s 13 kills, 12 digs and three service aces in a state final sweep of Barlow earned her a second consecutive state championship game MVP honor. Athletic excellence? Jackpot.

“She does everything really well,” said Coventry (Conn.) head coach Matt Hurlock. “She can dictate a match serving, defending and attacking. She has a good jump serve. I saw her in the state final, and she started with three or four aces. She plays back row. When we played them, we ripped some balls, and she got to all of them. She’s real fast. She’s not big, but she hits a good ball at the net. She just doesn’t make mistakes.”

Smolinski’s 4.63 GPA ranks her No. 5 in her graduating class. The section leader as flutist in her school’s wind ensemble, she has also competed in the Mathematical Olympiads. As the founder of Pre-wrap.com-an e-commerce website that sells pre-wrap headbands and athletic tape worldwide-Smolinski has served as a panelist at the Connecticut Youth Entrepreneur Seminar and as a speaker at the Conference for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Academic achievement? Jackpot.

With the proceeds from Pre-wrap.com, she has shipped care packages to U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and sent relief funds to Hurricane Katrina victims. Smolinski has also volunteered on behalf of countless community-service initiatives, including the Special Olympics, Unified Sports, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Rally. Exemplary character? Jackpot.

“I am grateful to have Tessa as a member of our student body,” said Scott Leslie, principal of RHAM High. “Tessa’s focus on academics and her success in the classroom, along with her commitment to a variety of extracurricular organizations exemplifies a student who takes full advantage of the high school experience.”

Her three-pillar excellence makes a nice platform for a further prize: 2009-10 Gatorade Connecticut Volleyball Player of the Year.

East Catholic of Manchester certainly won’t argue the point.

Ali Carlson had nine kills as RHAM breezed past No. 8 East Catholic 3-0 in a Class M quarterfinal on Friday. The scores were 25-15, 25-14 and 25-16.

Tessa Smolinski had eight kills and 13 digs for the Sachems (23-0).

Teammate Kelsey Welling added eight kills. Jocelyn Taylor had five kills and seven blocks, while Mallory Grosso contributed 10 digs.

The Eagles (18-5) received nine kills from Tara Higgins and 18 assists from Michaela Mooney.

From the Journal Inquirer

Earlier this year when asked about the Central Connecticut Conference girls volleyball tournament, RHAM coach Tim Guernsey was excited about having that kind of prepa­ration heading into the state tour­nament. (link)

Over the last two days, RHAM has taken care of business and finds itself playing for the tour­nament championship.

Top seeded RHAM ( 20- 0) stamped its place into tonight’s CCC title match with a workman­like 25-19, 25-19, 25-17 semi­final round victory over No. 3 Bristol Eastern (17-3).

The Sachems, who extended the state’s longest match winning streak to 49, took control after falling behind 9-4 in Game 1.

“ The last two matches, Farmington and Norwich Free Academy, we started out a little bit slow as well,” RHAM coach Tim Guernsey said. “ It’s one of those things with the seven seniors that we have that I try to let them figure out how to refocus themselves before I call a time out.

“Once we started to relax and just played things went pretty well.”

Junior Jocelyn Taylor (7 blocks, 7 kills) helped get things rolling for RHAM with three blocks and a kill as that 9-4 deficit quickly turned into a 15-11 lead as the 11-2 scoring run was punctuated by senior Tessa Smolinski, who landed a clean kill from the back row.

Taylor had four kills in Game 1 and finished things off by slam­ming home a passing error by the Lancers for a 25-19 victory.

RHAM took control in Game 2 after forcing a side-out trailing 16-15 on a point where Smolinski (8 kills) ran down a misplayed dig in the back corner of the gymnasium and later finished the multiple hit rally off with a kill.

That sparked things for the Sachems, who won six of the next seven points and 10 of the final 13 overall to make it a repeat of Game 1 with a 25-19 decision to take a 2-0 lead.

“We always talk about winning the long rallies,” Guernsey said. “There’s some statistic that says when the ball crosses the net four or five times the team that wins those rallies usually ends up win­ning the game. This time of year every point is important.”

RHAM led by as many as five points — 11-6 — in Game 3 before the Lancers got as close as 15-13 on a kill by Karissa Smith (14 kills).

The ability of the Sachems on serve/receive proved to be the difference maker as Ellie Linden (28 assists) closed things out with a pair of aces for the 2- time defending Class M state cham­pions.

Tonight, RHAM will square off against second- seeded Southington, which advanced Friday with a 3-0 semifinal vic­tory over No. 3 East Catholic, for the CCC tournament title at Manchester High School at 6 p.m.

The Lady Knights (19-1), who will be the No.1 seed in the Class LL tournament, ended Coventry’s 86-match winning streak on Oct. 28.

“ We’re looking forward to play­ing in the final,” Guernsey said. “It will be nice to have it on the road and get us out of our gym so that we’re used to the kind of atmosphere we’ll experience in the state tournament.”

Sarah Beres, Ellington, OH, Sr.: Powerful attacker getting Division I looks.

Jessica Frankowski, Farmington, OH, Sr.: Can control matches with her offense and defense.

Dianne Gan, Conard, S, Sr.: Area’s top setter will help Chieftains contend.

Kelly Myers, Coventry, OH, Jr.: Had breakout sophomore year until sustaining hand injury.

Tessa Smolinski, RHAM, OH, Sr.: Had 310 kills for last year’s undefeated Class M champs.

Five Matches To Watch

Farmington at Northwest Catholic, Sept. 21: Former Northwest Conference foes meet for early CCC West bragging rights.

Morgan at Haddam- Killingworth, Sept. 25: First of two rematches of Class S semifinal, which Morgan won last year.

Rocky Hill at RHAM, Oct. 9: Second meeting between teams will likely decide CCC East champion.

Avon at Coventry, Oct. 16: Could be the first challenge to Coventry’s three-year winning streak.

Middletown at Maloney, Oct. 23: Blue Dragons should be ready to challenge Victor Rivera’s former team.

— Zac Boyer, the Hartford Courant