TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School volleyball team picked up two key Class 3A Southeast Quadrant victories over the weekend.
“These girls are like a whole different ballgame this year,” THS coach Chelsi Jackson said. “They are really into it and really support each other.”
On Thursday, the Lady Blazers bounced back from an opening set loss to Wheatland 26-24 only to win the match, 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 25-16).
After Wheatland jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, Torrington responded by taking a 13-7 lead behind back-to-back kills by senior Onalise Albaugh.
Following a Lady Bulldog timeout, the visitors chipped away at the deficit, tying the set at 20 before taking the lead courtesy of a Torrington attack error.
It was a lead which the visitors never surrendered winning the opening set, 26-24.
In the second set, Torrington took an early 4-2 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs battled back to tie the set at seven.
The two teams were neck and neck until a 5-0 spurt at the end of the set propelled Torrington to the win.
Heading to the third, Wheatland came out and set the tone early.
Back-to-back service aces from Anderson and a kill from Hadley Paisley gave the Lady Bulldogs a 6-1 lead.
Albaugh tied the set at eight with a kill, but it wasn’t until junior Kameron Stitt broke the tie with a kill that Torrington took a 15-14 lead.
In the deciding fourth set, it was all Torrington.
The Lady Blazers raced out to an 8-0 lead before allowing Wheatland to get on the scoreboard.
“We’ve narrowed our varsity bench down a little bit and having less girls sub in and out has really made a difference,” Jackson said.
Wheatland closed the gap to as close as 13-9 before Torrington pulled away for the set and match victory.
Two days later, the Lady Blazers returned to the court against the Burns Lady Broncs, sweeping Burns, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18).
In the opening set, the two teams traded blows with neither team holding a lead of more than two until the final points of the set.
Torrington led 20-18 when Burns called a timeout, but the Lady Blazers scored five of the final six points of the match.
“If there is one thing I’ve learned about these girls, you have to let them get down first,” Jackson said. “They will come back up.”
In other two sets of the match, Torrington jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second and 6-2 advantage in the third.
In the final set, Burns battled back to take a 13-11 lead.
Two points later, sophomore Reece Halley tied the match with an ace.
An attack error by Burns gave Torrington the lead, and it was another Lady Bronc error, handing the Lady Blazers the set and match victory.
Torrington is back at home on Friday at 4 p.m. against the Buffalo Lady Bison.
