Windham volleyball gives maximum effort in preliminary playoff match

By Matt Pascarella

The No. 12 Windham Lady Eagles volleyball squad met No. 5 Sanford in a preliminary playoff round match on Thursday, Oct. 20 at Sanford High School and although Sanford won 3-0, Windham put up a very good fight and did not make it easy for the Spartans.

Windham High junior Lilly McLean leaps to return the ball
over the net at Sanford High School during a preliminary
Class A volleyball playoff match against Sanford on
Thursday, Oct. 20. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

Windham’s scores have improved steadily since earlier in the month when they played Sanford during the regular season schedule.

“We’ve come a really long way,” said Windham senior and captain Odessa Files, who had 10 digs and four kills. “I think it was a really good game; I’m sad we lost, but it was a good loss – I’m happy with how it went. We played competitively and it was just good volleyball. We were talking a lot better; we had more attacks, and our serves were pretty good.”

In set one, Sanford took a small lead, but Windham was not far behind. Windham had come back from a seven-point deficit to trail Sanford 18-16. After Windham senior Scarlette Sawyer hit the ball, Windham is one point away from the lead. It remained close up until the end when Sanford took the set 25-21.

“I feel like that was our best game all season,” said Sawyer, who scored seven points, had four kills and three aces. “We all went into it having a positive mindset ... we stayed motivated the whole game and I thought it was a good way to end the season. Our communication was better than it's been all year.”

Set two brought more intensity from Windham as they put themselves on the scoreboard immediately. Sanford jumped to a five-point lead, but Windham fought back and closed that points gap. Windham kept in close proximity to Sanford. The Spartans pulled away and won this set 25-18.

Windham’s high energy kept them going early on in set three. The game was tied. With Windham junior Lilly McLean serving, Windham volleyed well and took the lead for the first time in the match. Sanford tied the game at seven. Then, Windham tied the game at 13; Windham took back the lead. Sanford gradually increased their points. Sanford won set three 25-17.

Whether it was a win or a loss, for Windham senior Bella Lorenzatti it was an honor to play in the playoffs. During the match, Lorenzatti had 18 assists and three aces.

She said the team worked really hard on finding mismatches between the teams and how Windham could use that to their advantage. She is thankful for being on the team and will carry those memories going forward.

“We played much better than when we saw them earlier in the season,” said Windham volleyball coach Chuck Fleck. “If a loss could be good, it was a good loss – we fought. Serving was well executed and [Windham] were able to dig a lot of hits, probably the most we’ve gotten in a match; and quite a few blocks and block touches, that’s something we haven’t been able to get to. There was a lot more communication, a lot more chemistry on the court. We knew what [Sanford] were kind of going to do so we could counteract it to a certain extent; I’m proud of all of them.” <