On Monday, October 5th,2009, the Woodland girls volleyball team suffered a tough loss against division rival Seymour.

Woodland started off strong in the first set jumping out to 14-7 lead. But Seymour with good service fought back and rearranged the score with Seymour on top, 15-16. The set was fought closely, but in the end Seymour took the lead to end it with a score, 24-26.

The beginning of the second set was reversed with Seymour coming out with an early 6-9 lead. Woodland couldn’t seem to contain the ball and had too many errors which allowed Seymour to dominate the set, 13-25.

The 3rd and final set of the match Woodland only took the lead once early, 2-3. The rest of the match was a spectacular show by Seymour and their key players, Stephanie Burt and Christina Cretella. Woodland tried to catch up after their largest deficit of six, but Seymour maintained the lead and finished off the set, 25-19.

Woodland’s senior captain Emily Hutvagner believed floor talk was a major issue. “Communication is a big factor. It’s something that is key during volleyball, and it needs to be done,” said Hutvagner. “We didn’t communicate enough in this game.”

Despite the tough loss, Junior setter Jessica Patrizi contributed 11 assists, senior outside hitter Stephanie Badale had nine kills and senior middle blocker Erika Barnett’s hard work showed with her three blocks.

Woodland coach, James Amato, gave Seymour credit for the win. “Seymour serves very well,” saind Amato. “We picked up a lot of their serves, but couldn’t seem to do anything with them. We just couldn’t find the floor when we were hitting.”

The Woodland Hawks are now 7-1 on the season. They take on Ansonia Wednesday, October 7th in the Woodland gymnasium.