In a season featuring plenty of adversity and challenges, Sacred Heart Greenwich, which advanced to the FAA and NEPSAC Class A volleyball tournament finals in 2023, has shown steady improvement, as it certainly displayed during Monday’s FAA Tournament quarterfinals against neighborhood rival Greenwich Academy.

Seeded sixth, the Tigers faced the third-seeded Gators, a team they lost to during the regular season, and faced elimination in the league tournament, as Greenwich Academy held the lead after three sets. Yet Sacred Heart held off elimination and held on for a well-earned win.

Sacred Heart advanced to the FAA Volleyball Tournament semifinals, defeating Greenwich Academy, 3-2, in a back-and-forth match featuring impressive play by both teams.

“It was a battle, they made us work,” Sacred Heart Greenwich coach Beth Wilson Jordan said. “It was a great match, the rallies, back-and-forth. Both teams played really well on defense. Greenwich Academy was great, they served fantastic. Our girls really worked hard as a team and came together.”

Senior captain Evangelyn Forte had an outstanding all-around match for the Tigers, excelling in several areas. Forte recorded 14 kills, 16 digs, 10 assists, two aces and one block – sparking the team’s defense and offense. Sacred Heart won this hard-fought matchup, 16-25, 25-10, 20-25, 25-18, 15-10.

“It feels great to finally beat a team that is so good, especially a rival,” Forte said. “It feels awesome to beat a team that we didn’t beat in the regular season.”

Freshman setter Julianna Luzzi registered 23 assists, nine kills, eight aces, 12 digs and one block for the Tigers, continuing her standout season – her first on the SHG squad. GA defeated SHG, 3-1, in the regular season meeting last month.

“We’ve played them before, we know how they play, I think we were just a little scared starting off, but once we got into a groove we were good,” Luzzi said. “We knew what their weaknesses were and we used our strengths to our advantage.”

Greenwich Academy received 26 kills from Devon Mahaffy, who added 14 digs and two aces. Hannah Murray, a senior captain, posted 12 digs, two aces and two kills for the Gators, who won the first and third games in this intense, postseason match.

“I think we played really well, we’ve had a lot of adversity, we’ve overcome so much this season,” Murray said.

GA faced adversity in Monday’s FAA quarterfinals. Sophomore middle blocker Gioia Brown was sidelined for the quarterfinal-round match with an injury, while senior captain Natalie Bunnell and freshman Tinsley Tarifi were each out sick and missed the match.

“We’re missing our star middle, Gioia Brown to a concussion, we’re missing Tinsley and starting outside Natalie Bunnell due to illness,” GA coach Bryan Coloma said. “We came out and played well, Sacred Heart did an amazing job of stepping up and playing hard and continuing to keep rallies alive. I’m hoping to have everyone back feeling healthy and that they’re ready to go,” (for the NEPSAC Class A Tournament).

In the fifth and deciding set, Sacred Heart jumped out to an 8-3 lead and carried the momentum.

“It’s rough playing for 15 points, you have to start right away,” noted Luzzi, who has provided an impressive impact in her first season for the Tigers.

“It’s so much fun, the girls are so welcoming, especially being my first year at the school – it’s been great,” Luzzi added.

Trailing 2-1, Sacred Heart played from in front in the fourth game, holding leads of 12-7 and 15-9. GA closed to within 17-13 on a Mahaffy kill and 19-16 on an ace by Murray.

“Losing Gioia was tough – she’s one of our primary hitters, she has the highest scoring average on our entire team – but I’m really proud of everyone, I couldn’t have asked for a better team my senior year,” Murray said. “Hailey (Custar) and Sasha (Valdes) – they really stepped up, they really trusted each other and I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”

Leading 24-18, SHG received a well-placed kill by Forte to close out the fourth set, forcing the deciding set.

“We all wanted it so bad and we were all playing for the person next to us,” Forte noted. “We stayed positive the whole time and did not give up on any ball.”

Greenwich Academy led the majority of the first set in taking it, 25-16, then Sacred Heart rebounded to convincingly win the second set, 25-10.

“I think we played really well, we had some downs, but we came back and we fought really hard,” said GA freshman setter Caroline Brower, who had 11 digs, 40 assists and one ace. “Obviously, we lost one of our strong hitters, Gioia, but Hailey filled in the middle and did great. It was a really close match.”

Ana Pizzimbono, a senior, tallied 26 digs and seven kills, sophomore Grace Im had four kills and two blocks, junior Mackenna Kelly posted 12 digs and seven kills and freshman Sophia Berlingo tallied three aces for the Tigers (7-5 record in the FAA).

“It feels really relieving, we’ve had our ups-and-downs this season and we lost to them in the regular season, they’re a great team,” Pizzimbono said. “I’m really proud of everyone. Our serving pressure was key, we put a lot of pressure on their serve receive and we kept the momentum up.”

The season isn’t over for Greenwich Academy (8-4 record in the FAA), which is expected to qualify for the NEPSAC Class A Tournament.

“We have a really tough journey, we’re going to play a tough team, but I know that once everyone is back, which they should, everyone should be back for New Englands, it’s going to be hard to stop us,” Murray noted. “We want it so bad.”

Sacred Heart Greenwich visits second-seeded Greenwich Country Day School (10-2 in the FAA) in today’s 4:30 p.m. FAA semifinals. Greenwich Country Day School topped seventh-seeded Hopkins School in the quarterfinals.

“It feels awesome, because I don’t think anyone expected us to make it past the first round or even make it to the first round, so it feels awesome to be the underdog in the situation,” Forte said.

Indeed, as the quarterfinal-match progressed, the Tigers’ offense got into more of a rhythm.

“Our hitters have a great view of the court and our defensive players tell them where to hit,” Luzzi noted. “They have a great view of the court and know where to go.”