The 2024 volleyball season has seen Greenwich High School earn numerous dominant victories, yet one win has carried extra significance so far this fall.

On October 7, the Cardinals hosted two-time defending Class LL and FCIAC champions Darien in a regular season showdown – a team that has defeated them several times the past two seasons. However, this time, it was Greenwich that had the final say.

Holding the momentum throughout the match, Greenwich swept Darien, 3-0, in a much-anticipated match involving two undefeated teams. The Cardinals, who raised their record to a highly impressive 13-1 with the triumph, won the match by game scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-23.

“I think that they were mentally focused and they wanted it so bad,” GHS coach Marianna Linnehan said of her Cardinals squad. “I didn’t need to do anything for them.”

Greenwich followed up its sweep of Darien by beating Stamford, 3-0, on Oct. 10. Of their 14 victories, the Cardinals have swept to 3-0 wins 12 times. Against Darien, senior Alina Sarkissian recorded 11 kills, three digs and three blocks. Indeed, Greenwich’s offense had great chemistry throughout its matchup against the Blue Wave (14-1).

“The key was not guessing, because each one of their hitters were running a fast tempo,” said Sarkissian, one of the Cards’ captains. “The key was to wait to see where the ball was going.”

Sarah Bernann, a senior setter/captain, kept the offense flowing for GHS, registering 32 assists, six digs, three kills and one ace.

“There was a lot of talent on both ends of the net,” Bernann said. “At the end of the day, it was just who wanted it more. We had been working really hard. We knew that Darien and Greenwich obviously, have some rivalries, we just went out with all effort.”

Sophomore Kayah Armstrong had an outstanding overall performance for Greenwich, tallying seven digs, six kills, four blocks and two aces. Heidi Zieme, also a sophomore, powered the Cardinals in all aspects as well. Zieme posted 13 digs, 10 kills and one ace against the Blue Wave.

After winning the first set versus Darien, GHS jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the second set. An ace by Zieme and a Sarkissian kill gave Greenwich leads of 15-9 and 17-10, respectively, in the second game and the hosts kept their comfortable advantage thereafter.

Darien tried to gather momentum, but the Cardinals’ defense was on point throughout.

“The offense was mind blowing for me, we’ve been working for this and we were super aggressive on everything,” Greenwich senior libero/captain Joy Houdre said. “Our passing – we anticipated almost every ball on defense. It was a great game, it was so cool to see the back girls hitting everything. We just stayed aggressive.”

In the third game, Greenwich responded each time Darien tightened up the score.

“I think we did a really good job throughout the match,” said GHS senior Cameron Clark, who also paced the Cardinals’ production. “Obviously, we focused on hitting a lot more than tipping, because we’re not going to win a game tipping the whole time.”

“We needed to be aggressive and if we made a mistake, we tried to just shake it off and focus on the next play,” Clark continued.

“Our goal was to try to get that first set and from there we were just going to keep trying to roll with it,” coach Linnehan said. “This is a great group, they love playing together and they work well together.”

In 2023, Darien won both the FCIAC and CIAC Class LL tournament titles. The Blue Wave also won both championships in 2022. Greenwich was the FCIAC and Class LL tournament champion during its memorable 2021 season.

“Beating Darien, which won states and FCIACs the past two years and beating them is three is obviously, a big thing,” Clark noted. “I think it will show other teams what we’re here for.”

Greenwich won its match against Stamford on Oct. 9, by set scores of 25-19, 25-9, 25-6. Zieme had 11 digs, 10 kills and two assists, while Armstrong tallied 10 kills, seven digs, two blocks and two aces in the winning effort. Houdre had 16 digs, two assists and three aces, while sophomore Victoria Sullivan notched 28 assists, four digs, three aces and two kills for the victors.

In earlier matches, Greenwich also topped Danbury and Trumbull. In a 3-0 win over Danbury (25-11, 25-10, 25-12) Sarkissian had 10 kills, five digs and three blocks and Bernann rang up 28 assists, two aces and one kill.

Houdre (15 digs) and Armstrong (seven kills, three digs, four blocks, three aces) also paced GHS.

In a recent 3-1 triumph versus Trumbull, Greenwich took the match by set scores of 25-21, 25-13, 25-12, 25-19.

Leading the Cards were Sarkissian (13 kills, six blocks, five digs), Bernann (14 digs, 34 assists, five kills, one block), Houdre (26 digs, five assists), Armstrong (seven digs, five kills, two blocks, three aces, 10 service points) and Clark (15 digs, eight kills, two blocks).

Up next for the soaring Cardinals, who have won seven matches in a row, are road games against Ridgefield and Norwalk on Monday and Wednesday, followed by a home matchup versus Westhill on Friday.

“We’re looking to check off every team we play next and keep going and play our best every match,” Houdre noted.