Greenwich Country Day School’s volleyball team has made school history by advancing to the championship match of the FAA Tournament for the first time since its program’s inception.

Now the Tigers are seeking another historic win to make their already memorable season extra special.

Second-seeded Greenwich Country Day School earned a spot in the FAA Volleyball Tournament final, defeating sixth-seeded Sacred Heart Greenwich, 3-0, in the tournament’s semifinals before a jam-packed crowd at GCDS. The Tigers of Greenwich Country Day play top-seeded King School in the FAA Tournament finals today at King in Stamford.

“It feels incredible,” Greenwich Country Day School middle blocker/captain Willa Ball said. “Something that’s so special about our school and our team is that we have a chance to make history every day. This is the first time our program has made it to the FAA finals. We’re first in the NEPSAC right now, that’s the first team in GCDS history that’s ever had the title. We’re making history every single day and it’s so much fun to see everyone go out and have such a big role.”

Greenwich Country Day won Wednesday’s FAA semifinal-round match against Sacred Heart, 25-14, 25-17, 25-23. GCDS, which is the newest program in terms of varsity seasons played in the FAA, has a record of 11-2 in the FAA and is a highly impressive 16-2 overall.

“I’m super excited that we’re playing really good volleyball this late in the season,” GCDS coach Morgan Withrow said. “We’ve been really working on trying to play our game, so sets one and two, I’m so pleased that we were running our offense the way we wanted to.”

Sacred Heart, which was one season removed from advancing to the FAA Tournament final and the NEPSAC Class A title match, entered its 2024 season as a young team with numerous athletes gaining significant varsity experience. Senior captain Evangelyn Forte was one of the returning players from last season’s squad and she was instrumental in helping the team make strides throughout the season.

“I’m so proud of this team, we’ve come so far and we’ve learned a lot from each other,” Forte said. “Seeing the improvement from everyone throughout the season has been unbelievable. I’m so proud of everybody and I know they are going to do great things next season.”

GCDS played with the lead the majority of each set against SHG, effectively running its offense, while also exhibiting stellar defensive play.

“Similar to when we played them the last time, we knew we had to start strong with a lot of energy,” GCDS junior captain/outside hitter Cara Lehmitz said. We really wanted to work on getting a side out when we needed it and not letting them catch up.”

“We wanted to celebrate every point, that’s going to get you hyped and that’s going to bring a ton of energy,” Lehmitz added. “Energy always brings out the best in us.”

Kills by Lehmitz gave Greenwich Country Day leads of 10-6 and 12-6 over SHG in the first set. An ace by junior outside hitter extended the hosts’ lead to 20-9 in the opening set. Solid serving by Forte and strong setting by freshman Julianna Luzzi kept Sacred Heart within striking distance in the first game, but sophomore Anna Hill placed her serves well in helping the Tigers of GCDS close out the opening set, 25-14.

Gapen played on Sacred Heart’s successful 2023 team, before joining Greenwich Country Day this year.

“I’m happy to go again to the finals,” Gapen noted. “This group has been so welcoming and I’m happy I’m getting the opportunity to go to the finals again. We came out strong, we had strong energy, strong communication. I’m amazed with how far we’ve come this season. I know our team is going to push so hard with King and it’s going to be a great game.”

In the second set, a kill by Hill put GCDS ahead, 6-4, a point that started a 7-0 run for the home team. A tip by Gapen made it 10-4 and the lead grew to 13-4 for Greenwich Country Day. Lehmitz added a pair of kills, which capped the second set, giving Greenwich Country Day a 2-0 lead.

“They are great, they have incredible outside hitters, they have a great middle,” SHG coach Beth Wilson Jordan said of Greenwich Country Day. “Our team came a long way as the season went on. We have a lot of younger players, who have improved so much and I’m proud of our team.”

Sacred Heart’s best moments came during the third set, behind the blocking of senior Jadamarie Henry in the middle. SHG led 9-5 in the first set after Henry posted a pair of blocks, but GCDS won key points down the stretch to earn the sweep and an appearance in the FAA final.

“I’m so pleased with how great those sets were and I also love playing Sacred Heart,” Withrow noted. “Beth (Wilson Jordan) is a phenomenal coach, you know they are going to adjust to what we were doing, so it made it harder for us to score points and that’s exactly the type of challenge that we need at this point of the season.”

Said Ball: “The second set felt really good. That was some of the best volleyball we played, 100 percent. We started having fun and letting loose and let our self swing away. We were able to move past an error and go on to the next point and win that one.”

“They definitely came out super strong in the third set, they wanted to take us to a fourth set, but we wanted to go out with a ‘W’ in the semifinals and go in super confident for our game against King.”

Forte, sophomore Ana Pizzimbono and Luzzi helped SHG remain close in the third set. SHG made it to the semifinals by defeating Greenwich Academy in the quarterfinals, 3-2.

“It was hard being a single captain, but I wouldn’t trade anything for the world on this team,” Forte noted. “I definitely learned a lot about myself and my team and the responsibility that comes with it. It was great, all the girls had my back.”

So now Greenwich Country Day School’s next challenge is overcoming King, which has been the queen of FAA volleyball for numerous years. The Vikings are the defending league champions, having won the tournament title for a number of consecutive seasons.

“We are all super excited,” Lehmitz said. “The fact that we get to make history with GCDS and the growth we have had is so exciting and we’re all super pumped up.”

“I know our team is going to push so hard with King and it’s going to be a great game,” Gapen added.