The Naugatuck High School Volleyball Team has been off to a hot start in their opening two weeks of the regular season.

The Greyhounds have played five games so far and have come out on top in all five.

Their home opener was against St. Paul Catholic in which they went 5 very close sets. The scores were 25-18, 23-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-10.

They easily beat Watertown 3 sets to zero but ended their week with another tough game against Wolcott. Again, they went five sets and came out victorious. The scores of those sets were 25-17, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, and 15-5. The last set was a big turnaround after dropping the previous two games and losing momentum.

Last week they came out victorious in all three of their games as well. However, they did not need to go five sets in any of the games.

They were able to handle Lewis Mills, simply winning 3 sets to zero.

Against Holy Cross and Torrington though, they settled with 3-1 victories.  

Last year the team graduated 6 players who were all strong contributors. Coming into this year, only 2 starters returned along with a few players who got minutes off the bench. In addition to that, there are currently only 2 seniors, Shannon Burns and Hailey Deitelbaum, eligible to play on the roster. Senior, Sarah Wisniewski is recovering from an ACL injury.

The Greyhounds are a young team who were not sure what to expect at the start of this season. The athleticism of the underclassmen has proven to provide a skilled team that works together well.

The starting lineup is Burns and Deitelbaum, Brielle Behuniak, Hailey Russell, and Jordyn Hunt, all juniors, and 1 freshman, Kaylee Jackson, so from the beginning there was a need for communication and hard work.

In an interview with head coach, Kevin Wesche, he noted that “serving, athleticism, and the sense of commitment to their roles” were the key factors in his team’s success.

The players are starting to recognize how important working together is. They are starting to realize what is working well and what is not.

Junior starter and all-around player, Jordyn Hunt, noted that, “Being able to work together so well from the start was definitely a surprise”.

She is confident that they will be able to continue and build on that as the season moves forward.

“Working hard at practice and having comradery has helped the team be successful.”.

The Greyhounds are looking to continue their success as they face some tough competition, including Woodland on Friday.

“Staying focused, confident, and together” will continue the team’s success, Wesche added.