Volleyball 2021

Hamden tops Westies
West Haven falls in season opener
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 9, 2021) - Looking to get off to a quick start to the season, the West Haven volleyball team fell just short. In what was a tough battle, the Westies fell on the road in their season opener against Hamden, 20-25. 23-25, 25-19, and 17-25.
“The beginning of the season has felt very rushed, so we are still working the kinks out,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We played well, but we definitely know what we have to work on. Passing continues to be my biggest concern. We have to get our passing more consistent because we have some really great hitters that need to get the ball.”

Jenna Johnson (8) and the Westies fell to Hamden in the season opener, September 9, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
After losing two close games to open the match, the Westies rallied back in the third game to post a 6-point victory. West Haven could not sustain that momentum in the fourth game and fell by eight points.
Junior Jenna Johnson led the Westies with nine assists, four kills, and three aces on the offensive side, and seven digs defensively. Junior Dulcemaria Castillo had six digs, while junior Tanasia Fidalgo added five kills, three blocks, and two aces.
“Jenna (Johnson) had a very good game tonight and she's doing well with her setting,” Coldren said. “Both Asia (Ford) and Tanasia (Fidalgo) did well hitting and blocking. We are a work in progress, and I am looking forward to seeing how far this team goes this season.”
Seniors Mckayla Fowler and Anaelecea Turcio each had four digs in the loss.

Blanked
West Haven falls to Sheehan
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 15, 2021) - After losing the season opener on the road against Hamden, the West Haven girls volleyball team was looking forward to playing at home. Unfortunately, Sheehan spoiled the homecoming.
Despite playing well in the first two games, the Westies did not have enough in a 3-0 loss to the Titans Wednesday afternoon at West Haven High.

Emma Davey (11) and the Westies fell to Sheehan, September 15, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
“We started off pretty strong, but after dropping the first two games, I think we lost some confidence and energy,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We really need to stay focused and fight until the bitter end. I know they can do it. They need to believe it as well.”
Asia Ford led the Westies with eight kills and four blocks, while Jenna Johnson had five assists, three digs, and three kills. Dulcemaria Castillo led the way defensively with four digs.
“Asia (Ford) and Jenna (Johnson) both played really well on offense and are working well together,” Coldren said. “Jordyn (Johnson) and Dulce (Castillo) were both very consistent with their passing. I'm really proud of the progress the girls are making and we need to keep working hard.”

East beats West
West Haven falls Yellowjackets 3-1
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 17, 2021) - The West Haven volleyball team fell to 0-3 to start the season with a 3-1 loss at East Haven Friday evening. The Westies battled but fell 25-22, 25-27, 17-25, 17-25.
“Our frustration level is high right now,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We have to figure out how to work past mistakes and fix them quickly. If we can't get our offense going, we won't win games. Our whole mind-set and attitude needs to change to a more positive and confident one. Luckily, we are early in our season and this is the time to make the necessary adjustments.”
Asia Ford led West Haven with eight kills, while Jenna Johnson had seven assists and four digs. Mckayla Fowler added four kills, two digs and two aces in the loss.“Mckayla (Fowler) and Tanasia (Fidalgo) did well at the net,” Coldren said “Jordyn (Johnson) was the most consistent passer.”

Heartbreaker
West Haven falls to SHA in thriller
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 20, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team played a tough match Monday afternoon at West Haven High. While it may have been the best the Westies have played thus far this season, it was not enough as Scared Heart Academy sent West Haven to its fourth straight loss to open the year.

West Haven fell to Sacred Heart Academy, September 20, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
In a hard fought match, the Westies fell 18-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 6-15.
“We played very well and worked hard tonight,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “It's a shame we couldn't pull this one out. We definitely got nervous and played tentatively in the fifth game, so we made way too many unforced errors. Other than that, we played much more consistent volleyball and worked through our errors and stayed positive,”
Junior Jenna Johnson ran the offense with 24 assists, while adding five kills. She also had six digs on the defensive side. Dulcemaria Castillo led the defense with 16 digs, while Jordyn Johnson had seven digs, and Branyelis Brito and Mckayla Fowler each added six digs.
Tanasia Fidalgo and Asia Ford also played well on the offensive side with 11 and eight kills, respectively. Fidalgo also added four blocks.
“Jenna (Johnson) had an all-around great game,” Coldren said. “She made smart decisions with her setting and she really stepped up and led our offense. Both Asia (Ford) and Tanasia (Fidalgo) played well at the net and Dulce (Castillo) had an outstanding game defensively.”

First of Year
West Haven tops Bassick for initial victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 22, 2021) - After starting the season with four consecutive losses, the West Haven volleyball team is finally in the win column. Playing a complete game throughout, the Westies posted a 3-0 road victory at Bassick Wednesday afternoon. With the 25-6, 25-6, 25-9 victory, West Haven improved to 1-4 on the year.
“We got our first win and it was a solid win for the entire team,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We played our level of volleyball and stayed focus. We served tough and the rest fell into place. Mckayla (Fowler) and Asia (Ford) led the team in aces. I'm hopeful that we will continue this pattern.”

Mckayla Fowler led the offense with 14 aces, while Asia Ford had six aces. Jenna Johnson added three aces and three assists, Mya Flemming had three aces, Jordyn Johnson had three aces and two kills, while Morgan Montz chipped in three aces and one dig.

Westies fall to Guilford
WH drops 3-0 decision
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 24, 2021) - After posting its initial win of the season against Bassick, the West Haven girls volleyball team was looking to carry that momentum into Friday evening’s contest against Guilford.
Unfortunately for the Westies, Guilford had other ideas. Not letting West Haven get on a roll, Guilford posted a 25-14, 25-18, 25-21 win over West Haven.
“This was definitely a frustrating game,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “It seemed to take us a while to get going. We have to be ready to play from the first serve of the game and we just weren't. We are having trouble trying to find a balance between playing relaxed, but still having energy.”
Jenna Johnson led the way for West Haven with eight assists and eight digs, while Asia Ford had six kills and Tanasia Fidalgo had four kills. Dulcemaria Castillo added seven digs and two kills, Jordyn Johnson had four digs, and Anaelecea Turcio chipped in three digs.

“Defensively, we played pretty well but we couldn't turn that into points on offense,” Coldren said. “Dulce (Castillo), Jenna (Johnson), and Jordyn (Johnson) passed well. Asia (Ford) and Tanasia (Fidalgo) continue to play well at the net when we can get them the ball.”

Lauralton Hall tops Westies
WH falls 3-1
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 27, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team lost its second consecutive match and fell to 1-6 with a 3-1 home defeat against Lauralton Hall Monday evening. The scores of the match were 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-12.

West Haven fell to Lauralton Hall, September 27, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
“As a team, we really need to turn things around,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “Everything we do has to be more consistent. We have to work together as a team to stay positive and get some wins. There is a level of trust that isn't there and we really have to get to there. I'm afraid that if we don't, there won't be a postseason for us.”
Junior Jenna Johnson ran the offense with 20 assists, while also adding five digs, three kills, and two aces. Jordyn Johnson added 10 digs on the defensive side and had two aces, Mckayla Fowler had seven digs and four kills, Tanasia Fidalgo had eight kills, three aces and two digs, while Asia Ford added eight kills, two blocks and two aces.
“Mckayla (Fowler) and Jordyn Johnson) both had solid games, especially on defense,” Coldren said.
Morgan also had five digs and Branyelis Brito chipped in four digs.

Heartbreaker
Foran stuns WH 3-2
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 29, 2021) - Looking to get on a run, the West Haven girls volleyball team was poised for a good start Wednesday evening. Leading two games to one, West Haven had a chance to get back in the win column.
Unfortunately for the Westies, they could not close out the match and Foran won the last two games to defeat the Westies 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9.
With its third consecutive loss, West Haven fell to 1-7 on the season.

West Haven fell to Foran, September 29, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
“Tonight was definitely heartbreaking,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We had a goal of starting the game with tons of energy and a positive attitude and we did that. We just didn't get the end result we wanted. I feel like this team really saw what they are capable of and I know that it will help moving forward into the second half of the season.”
Jenna Johnson led the way for the Westies with 19 assists, five aces, and five kills on offense, and eight digs on defense. Asia Ford and Tanasia Fidalgo each had 10 kills, with Ford adding four aces.
Mckayla Fowler chipped in six digs, three kills, and two aces, Jordyn Johnson played well with 10 digs and five aces, Dulcemaria Castillo added four kills and three digs, and Branyelis Brito had four digs.
“Jenna (Johnson) had a really good game and really controlled the offense tonight,” Coldren said. “She made really smart decisions and kept Foran’s defense on its toes. Tanasia (Fidalgo) and Asia (Ford) both played well at the net and serving. They were able to find a lot of open spots on the other side of the net and it so important for them to be involved in our offense. Our defense and serve receive passing looked much more solid and consistent tonight as well.”

Trojans blank Westies
Lyman Hall posts 3-0 victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 1, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team dropped its fourth straight decision and fell to 1-8 on the year with a 3-0 loss at Lyman Hall Friday evening. The scores of the contest were 25-19, 25-13, 25-19.
“We played way too inconsistently to beat a team like Lyman Hall,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We couldn't seem to put it all together. We had some great passes and we couldn't finish. We also struggled to serve at times. Dulce (Castillo), Jordyn (Johnson) and Bran (Brito) all worked really hard and did very well in the back row.”
Dulcemaria Castillo led the Westies with 11 digs, while Jordyn Johnson had eight digs. Asia Ford chipped in six kills, while Jenna Johnson had six assists and two digs. Mckayla Fowler, Tanasia Fidalgo, and Branyelis Brito each had three digs for West Haven.

Westies fall to Hamden
WH suffers fifth straight loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 4, 2021) - The West Haven volleyball team continues to battle. Unfortunately for the Westies, the wins are not following.
In a close contest with Hamden, West Haven was unable to pick up the victory as the Green Dragons prevailed 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 at West Haven High Monday evening. With its fifth straight loss, West Haven fell to 1-9 on the year.
“I know we're beyond frustrated with the way this season is going,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We aren't playing with any heart or enthusiasm, and it's leading to very inconsistent volleyball. We have to figure out how to have fun and not let any of the pressure or stress get to us.”

Mckayla Fowler, Anaelecea Turcio and Dulcemaria Castillo led the way with six digs apiece. Jenna Johnson had six assists and five aces, and Tanasia Fidalgo added five kills.

Westies fall to Sheehan
Hot start not enough in 3-1 loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 6, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team got off to a good start Wednesday evening against Sheehan. The Westies were unable to maintain that start.

As a result, Sheehan came back from a first game loss to defeat West Haven 9-25, 25-14, 25-10, 25-15 at Sheehan High In Wallingford. The loss was West Haven’s sixth straight and dropped the team to 1-10 on the year.
“We played great in the first game and had all the momentum.” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “Sheehan stepped up and played better and we didn’t make the necessary adjustments to also play better. We had 11 kills in the first game and ended the match with 25 total. If we can’t maintain a consistent offense, then we are going to struggle to beat teams.”
Jenna Johnson ran the offense with 19 assists, while also adding four digs and three aces. Tanasia Fidalgo had 11 kills, while Asia Ford had eight kills. Defensively, Mckayla Fowler Dulcemaria Castillo led the way with 11 digs.
“Tanasia (Fidalgo) had a great night at the net and Mckayla (Fowler) and Dulce (Castillo) were solid in the back row on defense,” Coldren said.

East tops West
Yellow Jackets blank WH 3-0
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 8, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team lost its seventh consecutive match with a 3-0 decision against East Haven Friday evening. With the 25-22, 25-19, 25-17 loss, West Haven fell to 1-11 on the year.
“We have talked so much about maintaining consistency on the court, and we’re just not doing it,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We don’t have consistent energy or play and all of it is connected to the end result. This team has so much talent and should be winning a lot more games, but they have to stay focused and think through every play on the court the entire time.”
Jenna Johnson led the West Haven offense with 10 assists, and also was stellar on defense with 11 digs. Dulcemaria Castillo had nine digs, Jordyn Johnson had seven digs, and Asia Ford had three blocks. Tanasia Fidalgo had four kills, and Asia Ford added a pair in the loss.“Jenna (Johnson) and Jordyn (Johnson) both played well on defense,” Coldren said. “Dulce (Castillo) played well all around.”

WH falls to SHA
Sharks post 3-1 victory over Westies
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 12, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team has been looking for a spark. The common denominator this season has been missed opportunities, whether by communication of team errors.
Tuesday evening saw the trend continue as the Westies dropped their eighth straight contest and fell to 1-12 with a 3-1 loss at Sacred Heart Academy. The scores of the match were 17-25, 7-25, 27-25, and 13-25.
“We really struggled with communication tonight,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We still need to work on fixing our errors more quickly and playing consistent volleyball. On a positive note, our defense was very good tonight. Our hitters also did well when we got them the ball.”
Jenna Johnson ran the offense with 13 assists, while adding three kills and two aces. Johnson also played well on defense with seven digs.
Dulcemaria Castillo led the defensive efforts with 11 digs, Anaelecea Turcio had seven digs, Mckayla Fowler had six digs, and Jordyn Johnson had five digs. Tanasia Fidalgo played well on offense with 19 kills, and Asia Ford had seven kills.
“Tanasia (Fidalgo) has been working really hard and playing very well at the net,” Coldren said. “Jenna (Johnson) did a great job setting. She made very smart decisions and hustled more than anyone on the court.”

North Haven tops Westies
Solid effort lost in 3-0 defeat
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 13, 2021) - Despite playing one of its best matches in a long stretch of contests, the West Haven volleyball team could not get on the winning side. Rallying but falling short in each of the first two games, West Haven fell to North Haven 25-22, 25-19, 25-10 at West Haven High Wednesday evening.
West Haven fell to 1-13 with its ninth straight loss.

West Haven against North Haven, October 13, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
“Honestly, the team played some pretty solid volleyball tonight even though the scores don’t necessarily reflect it,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “North Haven is a good team and we were able to rattle them a bit, but unfortunately, we made a few untimely mistakes and couldn’t recover. In the first two games, we didn’t start off strong and had to dig ourselves out of a pretty big hole. It was good to see some fight and heart in this team.”
Jenna Johnson continued to play well on both sides of the ball as she ran the offense with 12 assists and added seven digs on the defensive side. Tanasia Fidalgo also played well with seven kills, three digs, and two aces, while Dulcemaria Castillo had a balanced effort with five aces and five digs. Asia Ford added four kills and three blocks, while Jordyn Johnson had five digs.“Our defense is really starting to work well together and I think they are figuring out how hard they have to work to be successful,” Coldren said. “Jenna (Johnson), Tanasia (Fidalgo) and Asia (Ford) all had a good night.”

Westies fall to Guilford
Strong start not enough in loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 16, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team fell to 1-14 with a 3-1 home loss against Guilford Saturday afternoon. The loss 25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 25-14 was West Haven’s tenth in a row.
“We started off strong today, especially in the first two games and then we just lost the spark,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “At this point in the season, I’d really like to see this team work on their communication and cohesiveness. We really need to see how important that is to being successful, even when we’re frustrated. Passing is really starting to look good and defense is working hard. Jordyn (Johnson), Bran (Brito) and Mckayla (Fowler) all did well in the back row.”

West Haven against Guilford, October 16, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
Jordyn Johnson led the defensive efforts with 13 digs, while Branyelis Brito had 10 digs. Asia Ford also had a solid day on defense with six blocks and five digs, Dulcemaria Castillo had seven digs, and Samantha Carrion had four digs.

Jenna Johnson again had another solid outing with 13 assists, six kills, and four aces on the offensive side, and six digs on defense. Tanasia Fidalgo had six kills and three aces, while Castillo had four kills.

Lauralton tops Westies
West Haven falls 3-0
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 18, 2021) - With a handful of games remaining in the regular season, the West Haven volleyball team was looking to finish strong. That did not happen Monday evening.
Coming out slow, West Haven never recovered in a 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 loss at Lauralton Hall. The defeat was West Haven’s eleventh in a row and dropped the Westies to 1-15 on the year.
“We started out flat and with no energy,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We just never found any, even when we made good plays, we didn’t seem excited about anything.”
Jenna Johnson ran the West Haven offense with 12 assists, six aces, and two kills. Tanasia Fidalgo had eight kills, and Asia Ford added five kills.

Branyelis Brito led the defensive efforts with five digs, while Dulcemaria Castillo had four digs.

Streak Over
West Haven tops Bassick 3-0 to snap skid
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 20, 2021) - The streak is over. After enduring some tough losses in a long stretch, the West Haven volleyball team is back in the win column.
In what was a complete team effort, the Westies topped Bassick 25-14, 25-14, 25-21 to snap an 11-game losing skid on Senior Night at West Haven High. West Haven improved to 2-15 on the year with the victory.
“It was a good team effort tonight,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “Everyone stepped up and did their job. It was Senior Night and it was good to get a win for the seniors. Jenna (Johnson) and Anaelecea (Turcio) served really well tonight. Our offense played pretty consistently as well.”

Junior Jenna Johnson had a stellar evening with 18 assists and 14 aces on offense. Anealecea Turcio had seven aces, Mckayla Fowler added six aces and four digs, while Asia Ford had five kills and four aces.

Foran rallies past Westies
West Haven falls 3-2
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 21, 2021) - After picking up its second win of the season, the West Haven volleyball team was looking to sustain some momentum. Despite playing well, West Haven was unable to hold on to its lead and fell to Foran 3-2 at Jonathan Law Thursday evening. The scores of the match were 25-20, 14-25, 25-21, 14-25, 4-15.
“This was a tough loss,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “We really showed how well we can play together. We started off confident, energetic, and focused. By the fifth game, we just struggled to recover from mistakes and before we knew it, the game was over.”
Jenna Johnson led the way for West Haven with 22 assists on the offensive side and 10 digs defensively. Asia Ford added eight kills and six aces on offense, and three digs and two blocks on defense.
Branyelis Brito was solid on defense with 10 digs, Tanasia Fidalgo chipped in nine kills and three digs, Jordyn Johnson had eight digs, and Mckayla Fowler and Dulcemaria Castillo each had five kills and four digs.“

Asia (Ford) had an outstanding night at the net and Bran (Brito) had a great game passing,” Coldren said. “Everyone really held their own tonight and it was a solid team effort.”

Lyman Hall tops Westies
Trojans post 3-0 victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 25, 2021) - The West Haven girls volleyball team fell in its home finale Monday evening with a 3-0 decision against Lyman Hall. The 27-25, 28-26, 25-13 loss was West Haven’s second in a row and dropped the Westies to 2-17 on the year.
“We played very well for the first two games,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “I feel like this team is finally starting to see how important each role is in order to be successful. Our focus right now is to end this season on a positive note and we are genuinely working on that. Passing and defense was very consistent and we need that in order to run our offense and get Asia and Tanasia involved. Bran (Brito), Dulce (Castillo), Jenna (Johnson) and Jordyn (Johnson) were outstanding tonight in the back row.”

West Haven against Lyman Hall, October 25, 2021. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.
Dulcemaria Castillo led the West Haven defense with 14 digs. Jenna Johnson had 10 digs and eight assists, Mckayla Fowler and Jordyn Johnson each had seven digs, while Tanasia Fidalgo added seven kills and two digs.

Branyelis Brito chipped in five digs in the loss, while Asia Ford had three kills, three blocks, and two digs.

Westies fall in Finale
North Haven tops WH 3-0
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 27, 2021) - Despite playing increasingly better down the stretch, the West Haven volleyball team concluded the regular season with three straight losses. The Westies closed the regular season with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-18 loss at North Haven and fell to 2-18 on the year.
“We really started to play some solid volleyball the last few games of the season,” West Haven coach Kate Coldren said. “The girls had fun and played hard. I’m proud of the way they finished the season.”
Jordyn Johnson led the West Haven defense with 10 digs, while Asia Ford and Dulcemaria Castillo each had eight digs, and Branyelis Brito and Mckayla Fowler each had four digs.
Offensively, the Westies were led by Jenna Johnson with 10 assists, four aces, and two kills. Ford and Tanasia Fidalgo each had seven kills.
“Our defense was outstanding tonight and we converted a lot of our digs into kills and points,” Coldren said. “Jordyn (Johnson) had another good night in the back row and Asia (Ford) and Tanasia (Fidalgo) were solid at the net. It’s been a rough season, but we definitely learned a lot and I’m hopeful for more success next season.”

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