Bellringers Win Close Match Against Haddam-Killingworth

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It was the kind of match you would expect between two of the top teams in the Shoreline Conference.

With second place in the conference possibly on the line, not to mention seeding in the Class S tournament, much was riding on the Senior Night contest on Wednesday in East Hampton.

Having beaten Haddam-Killingworth earlier this season, East Hampton controlled its destiny. Win and the Bellringers all but clinch second in the Shoreline behind undefeated Morgan. Second place also would secure a home game in the conference tournament semifinal, probably against H-K. Lose and that semifinal game might well be at H-K.

The Bellringers took care of business, but it was anything but easy.

East Hampton won, 25-23, 23-25, 25-17 and 25-16.

“I was really impressed with the girls, that was a great win,” East Hampton coach John Post said. “We fell asleep a little bit in the second game, but we woke up at the end to get that momentum back.”

In the first set, the Bellringers (13-2) jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but it wasn’t long before the Cougars (11-4) rallied to take a 9-8 lead. H-K extended its lead to 16-12 when Post called timeout.

Whatever the coach said worked as East Hampton got back on track and regained the lead at 19-18. From there it was a back-and-forth affair with missed opportunities on both sides.

With East Hampton leading 24-23, H-K was serving to tie the score. The winning point came after a great dig by Dakota Reed to setter Marissa Morassini, who assisted on the winning kill by Katie Beem.

The second set was close throughout, but at 16-16 the Cougars started to pull away, building a 23-17 lead.

Down 24-19, the Bellringers rallied. With Reed serving, East Hampton pulled to within 24-23. On the potential tying point, Ana Tarbetsky rose high over the net and softly angled her return toward the side where it landed safely inbounds for the win.

Still, the Bellringers’ late rally behind Reed’s serving gave them the momentum Post mentioned heading into the third set. With Ashley Chasse leading off as server, East Hampton jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, and the Bellringers did not trail again in the match, though H-K made several runs at them.

“We played great defense, stayed disciplined,” Post said. “A few times they started making runs where we fell out of our system. That was a big win for us.”

Having Chasse serve first was a new wrinkle put in by Post.

“We made that change [Tuesday] at practice,” Post said. “Marissa is our most aggressive server, she’s been leading off games because of that. We found we needed Ashley’s consistency. She doesn’t have the hardest serve but she hits her spots. She finds a weak point in their defense, hits those spots and that allows us to go on runs. That was a big key to us today because we’ve been starting slow in some matches. Today, every game I think we started off pretty well.”

That includes a 5-0 start Chasse gave East Hampton in the fourth set.

“We never could get any closer than that five points the rest of the way,” Haddam-Killingworth coach Rich Langer said. “Once near the end, it was like you’re not going to do it unless you get a couple of breaks here and there.

“We tried moving our sets a little and I don’t think they adjusted too well in the game itself.”

Chasse, East Hampton’s libero, also received praise from Langer.

“They have an outstanding libero,” he said. “She covers the court really strong. She made some nice hits in the back row.”

East Hampton was led by Beem with 11 kills and Julianne Toce's nine. Reed had 21 digs and Chasse 19.

“Dakota Reed stepped it up,” Post said. “I think that they tried to key on her, to keep the ball away from Ashley as much as possible, and Dakota really stepped up.”

Morassini led the way with 36 assists. Heading into the game, the East Hampton senior was fifth in the state in assists per game average.

“I started out as a freshman, I was new. I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Morassini said. “I was told I was going to be a setter. To me, I didn’t know where that would take me. After years of practice I’ve just come so far and it lets me know how far I have really come and I don’t realize it till I see that statistic and it makes me feel really good."

Morassini and Chasse were the two Bellringers honored on Senior Night. It was their final regular season home game but will undoubtedly play again at home during the postseason.

“It’s definitely sad, especially when you start bringing back memories,” Chasse said. “You get very emotional. You try to keep your head in it and try to get a good game out of it and come home with a win because that’s what we’re here for. We want to get to Shorelines, want to get to our goals, so we need to keep our head in it no matter what day it is or what’s going on outside the court.”

Post has pointed to his senior leadership as a key to the team’s success. Morassini didn’t disagree, but was quick to point out that it has been a team effort as well.

“Everyone does a great job at helping each other,” she said. “Me and my friend Ashley, we try really hard to stay positive all the time because we understand that being negative isn’t going to help anyone. I think that everyone does a great job of staying positive."

With three games remaining, East Hampton need win only one to clinch second place in the Shoreline Conference. Other than that, they’ll be using the games to continue to build confidence and look for ways to improve.

“We tinkered a little more today,” Post said. “I think it’s a never-ending process. We can’t just be happy. We have to find things that are going to take us to the next level, to make us better.”

In all probability, East Hampton will meet Haddam-Killingworth again, this time in the Shoreline tournament.

East Hampton won both matches by 3-1 against H-K this season. Langer points to experience as the key difference between the two teams.

“I think [East Hampton] is a very veteran team,” he said. “We, in the last two years, have had to replace a lot of people. Other than Ana and Kirsten [Carlson], the rest of them didn’t see a lot of pressure play. So, there’s been a lot of adjustments for them.

“I just have to make sure they don’t keep getting down on themselves. That showed a little bit today.”