Lady Blazer volleyball downs Newcastle

Andrew Towne
Posted 9/27/19

NEWCASTLE – For the second time this season, the Torrington High School volleyball team defeated the Newcastle Dogies.

In the first meeting at the Rawlins Invite, the Lady Blazers swept Newcastle, and today’s best-of-five battle ended no differently.

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Lady Blazer volleyball downs Newcastle

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NEWCASTLE – For the second time this season, the Torrington High School volleyball team defeated the Newcastle Dogies.

In the first meeting at the Rawlins Invite, the Lady Blazers swept Newcastle, and today’s best-of-five battle ended no differently.

Torrington brushed aside the Dogies, 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-21).

“I’m really proud of the girls and how they are playing together,” THS coach Chelsi Jackson said. “They walk into the gym knowing they are going to win games instead of hoping they are going to win games.”

Despite struggles serving and serve receiving, Jackson said the team did enough of the other things right to return to Torrington as the winners.

“The girls played really well together,” she said. “We actually didn’t serve well or serve receive well, but they were able to do some of the random stuff so well, they still pulled it out.”

Jackson also praised sophomore Mattie Jones who has embraced her new role as the team’s libero in recent games.

“I just moved her to the libero position,” Jackson said. “I took her from the JV setter to libero and she has done a great job. She is passing like a 2.5.”

The move has been seamless for Jones.

“Mattie is very smart, so it was not  hard for her. The first time she played that spot, she had some jitters because she hasn’t seen the varsity court a whole lot,” Jackson said. “She has done well and has earned that spot.”

The Lady Blazers will host Buffalo on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Willi Gym.

It will be the third meeting between the two teams, who squared off twice at the season-opening Douglas Tournament. The Lady Blazers were victorious in the previous meetings.

“They are big and do some really good things,” Jackson said. “We’ve already beaten them twice this year. It’ll be hard to beat them a third time, but we’ll have the advantage of being at home. It’ll be a challenge.”