A victory before a big crowd at Stamford High School marked the Greenwich High School varsity girls volleyball team’s 20th win of the season, compared to not a single loss and win No. 20 was, of course, especially significant for the Cardinals.

Making it a perfect 20 meant not only did Greenwich keep its incredible unbeaten season going, it signified that it earned a sweet repeat.

Top-seeded Greenwich is atop the FCIAC volleyball world again, winning the FCIAC Tournament championship for the second straight season with a well-earned 3-1 victory over second-seeded rival Trumbull in the much-anticipated championship match before an enthusiastic bipartisan gathering at Stamford High School.

The Cardinals’ 25-21, 25-27, 25-22, 25-13 triumph against the Eagles gave them their fifth FCIAC Volleyball Tournament championship. They also won the conference title in 2021, 2017, 2013 and 2010. Junior Samantha Tommasino was named the MVP of the FCIAC Tournament final for Greenwich following a match in which she did it all for the champions.

“The win feels amazing, we worked hard all season and we really deserve it,” Tommasino said.

“We pushed through every game, especially going undefeated, it’s been hard sometimes, but we’ve really worked for it and I think we deserved it,” Tommasino noted.

Tommasino sparked the Cardinals offensively and defensively, recording 15 kills, 13 digs, 10 service points and two blocks in the championship matchup versus Trumbull in a rematch of a regular season meeting on Oct. 25 that saw GHS edge the Eagles, 3-2, on the road – Greenwich’s closest call of the season.

Senior captain Kayah Armstrong tallied 20 kills, four digs, three service points, one ace and two blocks for Greenwich, registering key kills in each set.

“It feels great, I think our goal this season was to be FCIAC champions and state champions and the fact that we completed a goal feels surreal,” said Armstrong shortly after the Cards claimed the FCIAC title with their 20th victory. “I can’t even describe how it felt to run onto the court the last point knowing that we did what we came here to do.”

Heidi Zieme, a senior captain, produced another sensational performance for Greenwich, posting 14 kills, 16 digs, 10 service points and one ace, while senior Victoria Sullivan, also a captain, was also outstanding notching 15 digs, 25 assists, nine kills, nine service points, two blocks and one ace.

The Cardinals defeated Fairfield Ludlowe in the 2025 FCIAC Tournament final and eliminated the Falcons in this year’s semifinals, 3-1, to advance to the title match. For the season, Greenwich has dropped only four sets in 20 matches.

“Honestly, it feels amazing,” Zieme said. “We definitely worked for it the whole season, so winning it two years in a row is such an accomplishment and I know how much time and effort we put into practice. It’s so intense every single time, so it feels amazing winning two times in a row and then being my senior year, it feels even more amazing.”

Despite winning the FCIAC and CIAC Class LL state titles in 2025, there was no letdown in the Cardinals this season, as they took each opponent seriously, never looking past anyone they faced on their way to the postseason.

“It’s amazing, it’s everything you could really ever dream of,” Sullivan said of winning the FCIAC crown again. “We worked so hard, we did it last year and we came back with just as strong of a team, if not better and we got the job done and put in all the effort. So, it’s great to be here.”

Leading 2-1 after three games, Greenwich wasted little time in taking control of the fourth game, as it didn’t want to go to a fifth and deciding set. Kills by Armstrong gave GHS leads of 2-0 and 5-1. The Cardinals opened leads of 8-1, 9-2 and 10-3.

“Everything was powering us,” Armstrong said of Greenwich’s play in the fourth and final set of the title matchup. “We were able to incorporate our crowd, our coaches, our bench and we were letting them know that they were not going to have another chance to get close to us and that’s what I think, we showed in the fourth set.”

A block and a kill by freshman Charlotte Cook, an ace from Zieme and a kill by Sullivan, made it 16-5 in favor of the Cardinals in their dynamic fourth set.

Cardinals coach Marianna Linnehan spoke of how impressed she is of the talent and work ethic the athletes on her squad show on a daily basis.

“We are full of superstars, every single one of them can do whatever I tell them to do,” Linnehan noted. “That’s not very common in high school. Whatever I tell them to do, they do it and it works.”

Almost like Greenwich, Trumbull has enjoyed a dominant season. The Eagles’ record stands at 18-2, their only losses of course, coming to the Cardinals. Trumbull was paced by senior captain Mckenzyi Bell, senior captain Adriana Castillo and junior Grayson Marron throughout the FCIAC final.

“I really couldn’t be prouder of how we came out today,” Trumbull coach Nicole Trommelen said following the conference final. “Obviously, set four, we kind of ran out of gas, but sets one through three I thought we really did and tried to execute what we had to. We had to stay on the attack, we had to stay aggressive, that’s the only way you’re going to beat them. Giving them easy balls they are just going to try it right back down at you.”

Trumbull jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set and was ahead, 13-12, later on, before Greenwich gained the momentum. Strong serving by Armstrong, including an ace gave the Cards a 15-13 edge. Consecutive kills by Tommasino put GHS ahead, 22-16, in the opening set and after the Eagles closed to within 23-18, Sullivan put down a timely kill, making it 23-18.

“I think that it set a strong message and it made the rest of the game not easier, but more confident for us,” Armstrong said of Greenwich winning the first set. “We were able to play more smoothly, because we dominated the first set and showed that we are Greenwich volleyball.”

Junior libero Bailee Dayon provided excellent defensive play as usual, compiling 27 digs, while adding 13 assists and two service points, including two aces in the winning effort. Dayon described some of the aspects she believes has made the Cardinals such a successful squad.

“We put a lot of effort into practice, we hustle for everything, we work super hard in practice,” Dayon said. “Our bench, they put in so much effort to dig the balls and then send them back to us. We definitely have a better connection, we trust each other.”

Trumbull evened the match at 1-1 by winning the second game, 27-25. In a tense, back-and-forth set, Greenwich held a 25-24 edge, following an Armstrong kill, then Bell showcased her powerful hitting skills, pounding the ball for two straight skills, giving the Eagles a 26-25 lead, setting them up for a set two victory.

“Mackenzie, in our minds, we know she can stay aggressive because when she is in the front row, she is going to keep swinging and she gets the points where she especially in set two she came to life and took over,” Trommelen said.

The Cardinals knew they had to counter the Eagles better in order to bounce back and win the third set after the match was tied at 1-1.

“Mckenzyi (Bell) is so good, we have to touch a ball somehow, some way,” Linnehan said. “We could not just leave an open court for her to just hammer these balls down on us. Once we started doing that, we started seeing a change. I told them that we’ve got to keep the energy up on our side and we have to have control of the game. That last set, our team came out strong.”

Freshman Beatriz Lisboa Da Cunha De Freitas had nine digs, two kills, two blocks, 20 assists, two service points and one ace for the two-time defending FCIAC champion Cardinals.

Trumbull jumped out to advantages of 12-7 and 14-9 in the third set, prompting a Greenwich timeout. Several kills by Bell kept the Eagles in front, before the Cardinals rallied late to take the set, 25-22. Tommasino, Zieme and Armstrong were among some of the Cards’ athletes that spearheaded the comeback.

“Even though we were down we really had to fight to come back and we knew we had it within us to pull it back up and play to that intense level,” Zieme noted. “It feels amazing to lead this amazing team, they are an amazing team and I love everybody on it.”

“When we get in our heads, which we don’t do often, but we sometimes get stuck in ruts, but we can get out of them and that’s what we did today,” Tommasino said. “The third set we knew we had to push through. We knew we couldn’t drop another set, because it would have brought us down a little bit and we didn’t let it happen.”

Said Sullivan: “In that third set we were a little bit shaky in the beginning. That just happens when mentally you feel like you lost that set. But in the end, we can rely on each other and we know how to push through it and that really helped us in the end.”

As for Greenwich’s season of perfection thus far?

“It’s insane, this is something we couldn’t even do last year we did drop that game to Warde,” Sullivan noted. “It’s literally so crazy that we could come back do it better, win every game and then win where it matters most.”

Up next for both Greenwich and Trumbull is the CIAC Class LL State Tournament. Greenwich is seeded No. 1 in the Class LL Tournament and has earned a first-round bye. They will host the winner of No. 16 Hamden and No. 17 Enfield in the second round of the state tournament on Nov. 12th.

Trumbull is the No. 3 seed in the Class LL tourney and also gets an opening-round bye. The Eagles host the winner of No. 14 Cheshire and No. 19 Stamford on Nov. 12.

“We were able to carry the momentum from set to into set three and then Greenwich did a great job of continuing to chip away and they ended up taking set three,” Trommelen said. “We were right there, we were point for point with them. Hopefully, we can meet them again in two weeks. If we keep working and keep battling the way we did tonight, we are going to be able to do some great things in the state tournament.”

“Now onto states,” Armstrong said. “We’ll work toward the next goal, but it definitely feels nice to win this.”

“We’re so excited, we really want to do everything again,” Tommasino said of the upcoming state playoffs. “Last year, obviously, is a big standard, but I think we’re ready to meet it. We have worked so hard for it.”

“We are going to work even harder,” Dayon added. “We’re going to show up at practice every day and put our hardest into it.”

Here’s some more scenes from Greenwich’s FCIAC championship win versus Trumbull.