Wahconah's Serves Lead Way Against Comp
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DALTON, Mass. – Chicopee Comp Wednesday battled Wahconah in a back-and-forth first set that was within four points at 22-18.
The second set was a different matter.
Eve Colombari and Amelia Sturz delivered big service runs to help their team take control of the match as Wahconah went on to a 25-18, 25-9, 25-19 win.
“We had a good service all night,” Wahconah coach Dave Lussier said. “Eve went on a really nice long run. And we followed up a few after with Amelia. They just didn’t have a lot of answers for their serves, so we got that nice lead.”
Colombari got her team off to a 7-0 lead in a run that included a couple of tips at the net by Sturz.
Sturz went to the service line with Wahconah up 9-3 and did not surrender until it was a 15-4 margin. Four straight points in that run came on aces.
Sturz finished the night with a team-high seven aces.
Megan O’Bryan and Taea Cunagin each delivered eight kills. O’Bryan also led the defense with seven digs.
Colombari, in addition to kick-starting the second-set at the line, passed out 15 assists to direct Wahconah’s offense.
Back in Set 1, Cunagin was a big part of that offense late.
Comp had a 14-12 lead when Cunagin’s tip gave Wahconah a sideout.
That gave the ball to Sturz, who had an ace in a four-point run that ended with a Cunagin kill and saw Wahconah take the lead for good at 17-14.
The Colts were able to hang around, but Colombari ended up closing the set – in a sign of things to come – with an ace.
After the Wahconah rout in the second set, Chicopee Comp kept things more competitive in the third, leading as late as 15-14.
But after a serving error by the Colts gave Wahonah a sideout, O’Bryan served a pair of points, getting a kill from Alexandra Rougeau to make it 17-15. And Wahconah kept its lead to the end.
Sturz ended the night with her fifth kill, fitting for a Wahconah offense that dictated most of the action.
“Meg [O’Bryan] was on tonight,” Lussier said. “She was seeing the ball pretty well. Taea [Cunagin] was stepping up and getting some nice hits. And my middles were doing really well. Amelia had a great night tonight.”
The win allowed Wahconah to bounce back from Monday’s game at Lee and gives them a 5-2 record going into Monday’s meeting at Mount Greylock, which saw a 32-match win streak come to an end on Wednesday with a 3-2 loss at Ludlow.
Lussier said he is happy with how his team is playing as the season’s third week wraps up.
“I’m happy with what’s going on,” he said. “We’re ironing out a few things. We had a couple of tough losses that we probably learned from. Hopefully that will carry us through the season. We have a little bit left until we’re halfway, and we’re hoping to be successful in the next couple.”