BRADFORD – The Ansonia Lady Tigers traveled to Bradford and earned a 3-1 Cross County Conference win over the Lady Railroaders volleyball team, a team with five senior playing their final home game.
“It has been an emotional day,” said Bradford coach Alisha Patty. “We had a really big team talk before the game and it was emotional. These girls have put their heart and soul in this program and it hurts that we didn’t show that tonight.”
“Overall I am pleased with the season and our win tonight,” said Ansonia coach Darcy Buckingham. “We are a very young team and I am excited for them.”
The opening set had the teams even early with the game tied at 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before the Lady Tigers pushed out to a 16-10 lead bringing a timeout from the Bradford bench.
Ansonia extended its lead to 19-11 only to have the Lady Roaders even the score at 21-21 with the Lady Tigers calling for a timeout. The set would be tied at 22-22 and 24-24 with Ansonia scoring the final two points to win 26-24 and take a 1-0 lead on the night.
“The first set we came out and looked good,” Buckingham noted. “We played good.”
Set No. 2 saw the Lady Roaders jump out to an 8-3 advantage with Ansonia calling for a timeout. Bradford continued to forge ahead and take the game 25-17 and even the match at a game apiece.
Bradford quickly trailed 15-6 in the third set of the night before using an 18-6 scoring run to lead the Lady Tigers 24-21. A missed Lady Roaders serve and excelllent Ansonia play had the game tied at 24-24 and 25-25 with the Lady Tigers scoring the final to points for a 27-25 win and move ahead 2-1 in the match.
“We lost pretty big that second set but I was proud of them coming back in the third set,” said Buckingham.
Ansonia grabbed a double digit 15-5 lead to open the fourth set bringing a Bradford timeout. The Lady Railroaders closed out their home season on a 13-10 run in coming up short dropping the final set 25-18 giving the Lady Tigers the road win.
“We have been really struggling here of late,” Coach Buckingham said. “The last three or four games are games that we should have won that we haven’t. We’ve been kind of down and out so for them to dig deep and pull out this one, it’s a huge win for us tonight.”
Stepping on the Lady Railroaders home court for their final home game included seniors; Aliviyah Boggs, Buzz Brewer, Kendall Hill, Maggie Manuel and Cassie Mead.
“I have six freshmen, seven juniors and five seniors,” said Coach Patty. “Today I told my freshmen these girls have done a lot for this program and they need to make sure that they watch them and help them and see what they are doing right and things that maybe they need to fix.”
“They have done a lot even in practice since it is only me for JV and varsity,” Patty added. “My seniors have really stepped up and help me run practice and help those freshmen get better.”
