Conard sweeps Enfield volleyball on senior night – We-Ha

The Conard volleyball team defeated Enfield in straight sets Wednesday night in West Hartford.

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Julian Hartland takes the first serve of the match. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

By Paul Palmer

Conard boys volleyball moved to 13-2 on the season with a 25-15, 25-9, 25-13 win over Enfield on Wednesday night.

Before the game began, Conard’s four senior players – Brendan Denault, Julian Hartland, Dominic Belayev and Jayden Du – were honored by their coaches, teammates and fans. “These seniors are so unique,” ​​said their head coach, Kerry Roller. “They think the game and they respond well when you tell them something.”

In the first set, Conard jumped out to a 7-2 lead, then 8-3 on a Tyler Richards kill. At 10-3 Hartland had a perfect set up the middle and Du flew from behind and drilled the ball right through the Enfield defence.

Jayden Go to Conard’s service. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

“We worked hard to get to this level,” Du said. The UConn senior would win the serve back for Conard at 13-6. Then at 22-12, Tristan McClay won serve back, then served an ace and the Red Wolves won the set 26-15 when Enfield’s return serve went out of bounds. “I had 10 aces today and Tristan had five,” Roller said. “He came into the season playing well and every part of his game is just growing.”

The second set would be closer and the Eagles had a chance to tie it when they won serve at 6-5, but after serving out, Enfield committed three consecutive net violations to give Conard a 10- 5. Later in the second, Justin Hartland’s brother Lucas rattled off six straight points at 18-6, using hard serving and strong return play from his teammates. At game point, Enfield failed to return the ball and it was 25-9 and 2-0 in sets to the hosts.

Tristan McClay (22) had no errors on the return vs Enfield. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

In the final, the Enfield set struggled early to deal with McClay’s serve as Conard built a 7-2 lead. The Eagles would fight back again, and when Andrew Wyse made a big left-handed kill from the right side, it was 7-6 Red Wolves.

Aidan Piamondon would win back serve when his kill roared down the left wing past the six Enfield players. Piamondon would finish with nine hits on 15 attempts with no errors in the three sets.

Aidan Piamondon with the comeback for Conard. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

At 13-9, Hartland and Du played the same set play, Du crashing from the back lane to pull off the kill as part of a five-point run for Conard. “(Julian) spreads the ball so well and puts the ball so well,” Du said. “He doesn’t make anything easy for the other team,” Hartland said of Du.

Conard would have leads of 19-9 and 22-12. They would go on to put the team 23-13 up and on match point, Julian Hartland launched a service bullet that caught an Enfield player on the shoulder and the ball deflected up the pitch into the air, hitting the far side stands. . “It’s our senior night and we wanted to put it all on the line, especially off duty,” Hartland said after the game. “We’ve built this program and we’ve built better connections with each other,” he added when asked about the team’s success this season.

Tyler Richards hits the return for Conard. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

Last year’s team made it to the state semifinals before losing to eventual Class L champion Darien, and Roller believes this year’s group could have something more than last year’s. “We have more plays compared to last year,” the coach said. “This year I have a new solid that I can rely on. We’re a better team now than we thought we’d be.”

If the Red Wolves are to make another run at a title, nothing will be easy. Thursday night they meet Hall, who needs every win they can get to secure a postseason berth, and Conard finishes with a 15-0 Simsbury — looking to avenge a straight-set loss earlier this year season. As it stands now, Conard will open CCC Tournament play against a Southington team it defeated earlier in the year.

Dominic Belyaev works to beat the block. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

Game notes

Thursday is a big day for the Conard/Hall rivalry. Because Conard has its junior prom on Friday, several rivalry games were scheduled to be played on Thursday. In addition to the volleyball game at 6 p.m., the boys lacrosse teams meet at 7 p.m. at Hall, boys tennis is at Hall at 3:45 p.m., at 4:30 p.m. at Hall, girls tennis is at Conard at 4:35 pm and Conard will host Hall in softball at 3:45 pm… Let’s hope the weather holds.

Aidan Piamondon beats the 2-man block. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

Tristan McClay goes for the winner alongside teammate Brendan Denault. Conard vs. Enfield Boys Volleyball. May 15, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

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