Spartans Capture State Volleyball Championship [VIDEO]

EAST HAVEN, CT — For the 11th time in school history, but first occasion in 15 years, Amity Regional High School reigns supreme in Connecticut high school volleyball after defeating Darien 3-1 in a hard-fought Class LL championship match Saturday at East Haven High School.

Game scores were 27-25, 26-24, 22-25 and 25-22.

The first two games were back-and-forth affairs, with neither squad leading by more than three points at any time. A massive kill shot by tournament MVP Abigail Harbinson cemented victory for the Spartans in the first game, and a Darien side out at game point gave Amity a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Wave appeared down and out late in the third set, trailing 16-13, but rallied for five straight points en route to a 25-22 win which sliced their deficit to 2-1.

Amity seemed to put the match out of reach by grabbing an 18-9 advantage in the fourth game, then upping the advantage to 23-13 on a sensational diving winner by Harbinson. Darien, however, showed why the program has won 17 state titles in 18 tries, rattling off nine straight points to trim the margin to 23-22.

Amity recovered to win the final two points to close out the victory, the Spartans' first Class LL triumph after 10 state titles in Class L.

"I kept on trying to tell them not to worry about the points that are over, just worry about the point you have to win next," Amity head coach Seth Davis said. "It's always hard to push things when you're so tentative like that, so eventually we got to it. When it's close like that, it's hard to push over that hump."

Harbinson finished with 16 kills, nine service points, five digs and three blocks. Setter Zoe DiZenzo had 25 assists and four blocks, Madeline Adzigian and Amelia Taddei each contributed five kills, and libero Olivia Pisano recorded nine digs.

For Darien, Lindsay Bennett had eight kills, 14 digs and five aces. Aerin Bowman had eight kills, Sophia Talwalker had 19 digs, and Cristina Escajadillo added 25 assists.

"[Darien] is a great team, Laurie [Larusso] is a great coach and they've had a lot of experience here," Davis said. "I'm always kind of tentative and worried about playing a team like that, and I know she always has her team prepared.

Watch a video clip of the championship-winning point below:

Photo and video credit: Tim Jensen

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