No. 4 seed Conard defeated No. 5 seed Westhill at home in West Hartford on Saturday to move to the Class L semifinal round.

Tristan McClay beats the block in the 3rd set against Westhill in Conard’s Class L quarterfinal win. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

By Paul Palmer

The Conard  boys volleyball team secured its spot in the Class L semifinals on Saturday with a 25-18,25-23, 25-21 sweep of Westhill (Stamford).

“It feels great,” said senior co-captain Jayden Flores. “I’m honored to be part of this team.”

The Red Wolves used a strong, balanced, complete game for the three sets to top the Vikings who featured some high flying, hard hitters. “A lot of the success came from our defense,” said Jayden Du, whose play at the net and on serve was critical to the win. “We played like one unit today.”

Jayden Du contributed with his serves and his play at the net in the Conard win. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

The reward for Conard will be a neutral site game again No. 1 seed and undefeated Darien. To say Darien is undefeated does not do the program justice. They are 24-0 on the season, have dropped one set all season and have a 69-match win streak. The Wave have won five state titles, including  the last two that were contested.

The Red Wolves are taking a straightforward approach to the match. “Somebody has to beat them, why not us?” said head coach Kerry Roller. “They have to come to play, we have to come to play, and our defense will need to win it for us.”

Against Westhill, Conard opened up first-set leads of 10-6, 17-11 and on Tristan McClay’s kill 18-12. The Vikings fought back with some big blocks at the net but could never get closer than four points. Du’s put away made it set point for Conard and with Rafael Ortiz serving, the Red Wolves took the set 25-18. “It was all about mindset,” said senior Paul Gagalick. “I felt like we had a great mentality out there.”

Tristan McClay of Conard goes for the point in the quarterfinal win over Westhill. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

The second set was the most exciting of the game, featuring some aces from both sides, great defense from both teams, and a battle for every point. With Flores coming up big on passes and handling much of the Westhill service, the hosts were out to a 14-11 lead. The visitors cut it to 18-17 on serve before Conard got the sideout at 22-19. The  Vikings fought back to 24-22, and  a serve into the net by Conard sent the serve back to Westhill, down by 2, but the Red Wolves got the winning point with a sideout.

Conard players celebrate the point win. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

There was some confusion on the play as the ball landed out of bounds, but the officials ruled it had been touched by a Westhill player at the net, giving the set to Conard 25-23.

Needing just one more set to close the match out and move on to the semifinals, Conard ran out to a 12-4  lead and looked like they would make quick work of Westhill in the third set. The Vikings had other ideas, and behind some strong serving and big kills, closed it to a 3-point deficit at 14-17.

Dominic Belyaev works to beat the block from Westhill. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

Conard took a timeout leading 20-17, but it was Westhill that came out ready to play, getting it to 20-16, before Conard was able to regain serve and make it 24-19. Westhill ran off the next two points before the Red Wolves ended it at 25-21 for the match win.

“They have approached it that this is a new season with four games and their energy has changed,” said Roller of her team. “Our serving was one of the big things for us today.”

 With the win, Conard moves to 16-4 on the season with a roster that has five seniors. “They’ve come a long way,” Roller said of her team. “We new there were some missing pieces and now we have the players filling those missing pieces.”

As for what’s next, the Red Wolves players know it won’t be easy, but they are ready to give their all. “We have to stay confident and rely on our strengths,” Gagalick said of the Darien match.

“A lot of them are taller, but we need to score off our defense,” Du added.

Julian Hartland sets the ball as Conard players move to the net. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

Conard players celebrate their 3-set win over Westhill. Conard vs. Westhill. Class L quarterfinal. June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

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