By John Frieders
On Friday, April 12, the Boys Volleyball team will host rival Darien, in an opportunity to beat the Blue Wave for the first time since 2016. The cross-town rivals have met 15 times since the Rams’ last victory over the Blue Wave, with Darien controlling both regular season and playoff matches. This year, the boys come into the game 3-0, with victories over Newtown, Shelton and Greenwich. On the other side of the net, Darien faces the Rams in some unfamiliar territory after losing their most recent game to Simsbury, 3-1. The loss to Simsbury was their first loss in over 3 years, snapping their unprecedented 75 game win streak. Yes, you read that right, 75 games.
Both teams enter the 2024 season with gaps to fill in the lineup after losing multiple seniors. For Darien, they lost All-FCIAC First Team player Trever Hergot, who brought his talents to BYU to play Division 1 volleyball. All-FCIAC Second Team stars Griffith Crouse and Isaac McMullin also graduated in 2023. The Rams also saw a talented group of six seniors graduate, which included All-FCIAC First Team recipient Nic Limone and All-FCIAC Second Team recipient Connor O’Donnell. Both teams have a younger and less varsity experienced players who are still getting better each day.
New Canaan Head Coach Amy Warren talked about the team’s focused mindset and rigorous work ethic so far. “They’re constantly asking questions,” she said. “ I don’t even have to remind any of these guys, no matter what age they are, to get into a drill. I don’t have to remind them and say, hey, did we switch yet? They’ve already switched and they’re making sure that they get on that court.”
The New Canaan-Darien Rivalry spans beyond just one sport and although this early season test doesn’t have win or go home stakes, bragging rights are most definitely on the line.
Entering the matchup on Friday, Coach Warren and her team are confident that they can finally come out victorious. “Something that’s really special about this team is they all believe that they can do it, and they should believe that,” she said. “It is hard to not get nervous because of the hype of Darien and their legacy of winning, but this team fully believes that they are capable of beating that team.”
Senior captain Benji Sturke shared his final thoughts ahead of the Rams’ first big test this season. “It will be a close game, but I hope that everybody on the team knows that we can do it,” he said. “But they are a really good team and we need to bring our A game in order to win.”
Watch the game live on www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1zGhiAxAwQ
