V Volleyball

It was an exhilarating official start to the season for the KO Varsity Volleyball team, with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Taft with an extra-points final set. What an opener!

The first set had the Wyverns ready to launch our offense, with precise serving from Co-captain Keira Sullivan ‘23 and Ava Cashman ‘24 to put us in the lead. Lola Peck ‘26 was finding great angles for her hits from the middle, and Jill Plaut ‘23 was setting up the offense for success with each point. Taft came back with a strong response and narrowly took the set 25-21.

In the second set, it became clear that KO was in it for the long haul. Jillian Alexander ‘24 was everywhere, starting us off with a long service run and then transitioning to solid passing and blocking. Sullivan was making ruthless net decisions to boost our offense, and Quinn Kearney ‘23 followed suit on the right side with consistent hits and some scrappy saves on defense. The Wyverns took a commanding lead and managed to hold it, taking the set 25-16.

The third set was a true back-and-forth battle from the first point, when Allie Arcaro ‘24 made a diving save that proved that KO wasn’t going to rest on our laurels after the second set. In the middle of the set, Lila Klinzmann ‘27 gave a boost to our team’s defense and made quality hits from the outside, adding to Peck’s effective tipping in the middle. It was a nail-biter of a set that Taft took 25-22, but we were just getting started!

In the fourth set, KO took charge and made a BIG response to being down 2-1 in sets. Cashman started off the team with a nonchalant 10-point service run, which was quickly followed by a 5 point run by Alexander, and the Wyverns found ourselves charging towards a deciding set. Plaut took some great opportunities to do some punishing right side hitting, as well, before KO took the set 25-5.

To say the fifth set was a rollercoaster through a tornado would be an understatement. The Wyverns took the lead early on and held steady as the teams changed sides, but Taft elevated their game and brought us into an extra-point showdown. It was an amazing display of high-pressure court coverage, offensive transitions, and decisions at the net that saved the Wyverns from a few match points down and pushed us to a 21-19 win. It will be hard to top the excitement of this match, but it was an awesome start to the season that energized all of the players! We look forward to our first home match against Greens Farms on 9/17!

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Away
(League)
Win
KO: 3 – Taft School: 2
Location: Taft School
Directions: Continue on I-84 to Watertown. Take exit 37 from CT-8 N