Staff Photo/Preston Byers Chokers Morgan Strock leaps and slams the ball over the net during a game against Ashtabula St. John on Oct. 1 in Southington.
SOUTHINGTON — The Chalker girls volleyball team continues to make the postseason and can confidently say it’s Southington’s best team in a while.
However, there is some mystery as to exactly how long.
“I talked to a teacher here and he thought they won district when his daughter was in high school. That was probably 15 years ago.” said Choker head coach Sarah Brown. “So no one knows. We’ve been back for a long time (but) I don’t know the last time they had a season this good.”
In one of the most sudden turnarounds of the fall sports season, the Wildcats, who hadn’t reached double-digit wins in nearly a decade, finished the regular season with 15 wins, more than the previous two seasons combined.
While some may have been caught off guard by the choker’s appearance, Brown was not.
“We knew they did it last year. They just believed they could do it.” Brown said earlier this month. “We had nine seniors coming in this year, and we knew they could do what we envisioned last year, and they just put it together. ”
What they put together was a legitimate shot at the Northeastern Athletic Conference (NAC) title, and according to Brown, the prize was: “Huge for our small town” But in the end it went to undefeated Ashtabula St. John.
Despite this, the Chalkers won over 70% of their sets in conference play, won all but two of their NAC matches, and finished tied for second place with Pima Tuning Valley.
Brown said this breakout year was led by more than one player, including Morgan Strock, Kelsey Brown, Colleen Castle and Kendra Wilcoski.
“I’m not just a hitter.” Mr. Brown said. “You can always sub (a player) in. We have multiple hitters, multiple servers, we have a great libero. It’s just a balanced group.”
That’s also what Brown likes.
Throughout the season, the coach talked about this concept: “We are greater than myself.” Individual players prioritize team goals over their own goals.
“Everything ‘we’ do has to be better than anything ‘I’ would like to do.” Mr. Brown said. “It has to be, ‘We’re better than me.'”
Brown said the team’s struggles last year (Wildcats were 7-15 in 2023) helped guide the girls. “Spiritual strength” and that they can do it “Please fix their mistakes.” Volleyball essentials.
After the team’s second straight loss on September 7 against Western Reserve, Chalker began to overcome his mistakes one game at a time.
A few days after losing to the reserves, the Wildcats were on the road against Windham, trailing 2 to 1, but won the set 25-22 and took the fifth and final set, winning 15-5. did.
The come-from-behind victory over Windham was the first of nine straight for Chalker, who went almost a month without a loss.
The Wildcats ended the regular season with a 3-0 loss to Rootstown last week, but Brown and the team began their playoff push with a win over Willoughby Andrews Osborn Academy on Thursday. As is often the case with out-of-town opponents, Chalker had never faced a playoff opponent during the regular season, making looking inward even more important for the Wildcats.
“We’re just working on some things that we can control.” Mr. Brown said. “We’ve struggled a little bit with serve receiving and serving the last few games, so we’re going to focus on what we know we can do to improve.”
The Chokers must beat Lisbon in the next round, but Coach Brown said the Wildcats have dropped just one set this season and are the favorites to emerge as the Division VII, Northeast District 1 champions, St. John’s. He said he was eager to try again.
“We want to learn from our mistakes.” said Brown, whose team lost to the Heralds in straight sets twice this season. “In practice, we’ve focused on defense and how St. John wants to play. Everything we’re doing is hoping to get a rematch against St. John.”
A rematch is close, but not certain. Both teams must win next week’s games to advance to the district finals. St. John’s will face Bloomfield after an impressive win over Bristol on Thursday.
But one thing’s for sure, according to Brown: This team, this particular group of Wildcats, won’t be forgotten for a long time.
“They’re going to be the team everyone talks about.” Mr. Brown said. “In the huddle one day this year, I told them this team is going to be talked about for years to come. ‘Do you remember that team?’ That team they went 15-5. Do you remember the year?
“They’re very proud of themselves, and they should be.”
