CIAC: Wave Rolls Over Foran and On To Finals

It's been "three and out" all season and Thursday evening's semifinal CIAC match was no exception. Darien Volleyball beat Foran 3-0, winning their twenty-fourth consecutive match and seventy-second consecutive game in less than an hour; fifty-eight minutes to be precise.

The Wave beat a good team. Foran had a 22-2 record and a number four seed in the tournament, but aside from a brief flurry in the first game, the lions were no match for the top seed Wave.

Darien was out of the gate quickly, winning the first five points and seven of the first eight points. But just as it appeared they would run away with the game, the Lions came back with five consecutive points. Midway through the set they drew within one point of Darien at 13-12. After a Wave timeout, Colby Billhardt resumed play with a kill that almost put a hole in the floor—one of her eleven for the match. Off with a bang, Darien went on a five-point run, took the lead by nine points and won the game 25-16.

In the second game, Darien started fast again, winning five of the first six points. Darien led 12-5 and then went on a tear, increasing their lead to 20-6. Foran was back on their heels. as Darien showed the full arsenal: strong serves, killer kills, terrific blocks, passes, digs and assists.

"We really played well tonight. We stuck together, we communicated well, and all the hard work we've put in really showed,” said Billhardt.

It was a 25-10 set as the teams switched sides for the third.

The Wave sprinted out to an 11-3 lead, but Foran appeared to get a second wind and fought back to trail by only three points, 12-9. But Darien took control once again on a Billhardt kill followed by a Billhardt dink, followed by a Sommi kill. Darien pulled away and won 25-12.

Mackenzie Begley had another all-court game with 21 serving points, 27 assists, five aces and four digs. She did everything but sing the National Anthem.

Billhardt finished the game with 11 kills, one ace, one block and four serving points.

Sarah Gorski had 10 kills and three blocks.

Amanda Sommi finished with six serving points and four digs.

Olivia Taylor had 11 serving points along with five kills, five digs and one ace.

Darien moves into the championship game on Saturday against Farmington at 4 p.m. in Berlin, Conn. A victory would give the Wave a ninth straight state title, and a fifteenth since 1993.