By Greg Bates
Correspondent
SEYMOUR – There weren’t too many secrets when the Seymour and New London girls’ volleyball teams squared off Oct. 1.
Twelve days earlier, the teams met, and Seymour earned a 3-0 victory.
However, this time around, New London put up more of a fight.
After losing a critical second set to even the match at 1-1, Seymour got its energy up and pulled off wins in the final two sets to score a 3-1 victory (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16) in Bay Conference action.
“We came out with good energy, but then in game two, we looked sluggish,” Seymour coach Stacey Jones said. “We told the girls we needed to raise the level of play and raise the energy. We want that consistent passing so we can get some good sets so we can attack and finish.”
Seymour earned a 25-21 victory, in set one, but New London led 19-8 in the second.
When it looked as though the Thunder might fold, the girls stormed back to tie it at 23.
Despite losing 25-23, Seymour gained the momentum.
“That helped us get more energy throughout the rest of the games and helped us push through and get the energy to take that win,” Seymour senior hitter Sophie Wery said.
Tied at 15 in the third set, Seymour scored five of the next six points as Kaitlyn Felty registered an ace and Wery followed with a kill.
The Thunder closed out the third, 25-19, to take control.
“We were down on ourselves after that loss, so getting our energy back and getting more excited on the court after a big play,” said Wery, who said she could feel the energy from her teammates. “That’s what helped us win the third and fourth sets.”
Seymour never relinquished control in set 4, as New London got within one, 15-14.
However, Seymour scored 10 of the final 12 points to get a 25-16 victory.
Jones saw her team play better in the fourth set.
“We didn’t make as many mistakes, we started to put the ball away, we served tougher down the stretch and made it more difficult for them to pass,” she said.
Wery finished with a team-high 13 kills and Tayja Cornell added 11.
Sydney Levanetz (20) and Cami Arno (17) were the leaders in assists.
As a team, Seymour tallied 14 aces on the night.
“We always want our girls to serve tough and keep the other team out of system, and we were able to do that,” Jones said.
Early on in the season, Jones said her team has plenty of room for improvement, but she’s seeing nice things on the court.
“We’re working to develop our middles and chemistry – we want that team chemistry to be more consistent across the match,” she said. “Those things will come as we continue to play together and push toward the end of the season.”