NEW BRITAIN — The New Britain Golden Hurricanes and Newington Nor'easters men's volleyball teams faced off earlier this season on April 2, with both teams opening the 2024 regular season. Newington took the lead in a close 3-2 game, but New Britain started the season with a loss but improved to 1-0.
The two sides met again on Monday in their second regular season game, but the results were very different. The home Hurricanes won in straight sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-20), improving their season record to 7-7.
In the win, junior Joshua Lamares had a team-high 30 assists and 12 service points. Senior Daniel and his junior Casper Adamas each had 10 kills, and junior Werner Reins added eight kills. Senior Lee Chambers had six kills and five blocks in the win.
Ramares said it felt good to get revenge against Newington at home in front of the Crows, as Newington defeated Newington at Newington High School. He also said the team's mental strength has improved significantly since the first game of the season.
“We lost by a close margin at the beginning of the season, but it was nice to win,” Ramares said. “We're at home, we felt great. We knew we could beat them. Halfway through the season, we realized it was all a mental issue. We fixed that and now we are able to beat our opponents.”
The Golden Hurricanes started the regular season with a 1-6 record and have won six of their last seven games. New Britain started its winning streak with five straight wins, including a big win over Hall, which was previously undefeated at 5-0. In these matches, they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 15-3, including three straight wins. Their winning streak ended on May 3 with a 3-1 loss to the Simsbury Trojans.
Ramares wasn't the only one who said the team's mental toughness and approach to the game has led to its recent success. New Britain head coach Michelle Abraham also said the team's mentality changed and developed as the season progressed, saying the team was more energetic and getting better and better each week.
“The team has grown overall since the first game,” Abraham said. “We're doing well. They're used to who's on the court. When they broke the hole in the middle of the season, something clicked. They're in sync with each other and trust the process. ”
In the loss, junior Nate Palopiano had a team-high 20 assists and a team-high eight kills. Junior Jackson Roman had 13 assists and five kills, placing second in each category.
Newington head coach Kurt Burns said his team was on the back foot and New Britain has improved a lot since their first meeting.
“Their offense was really good. We couldn't slow them down,” Burns said. “We couldn't block the ball, we couldn't dig the ball. They looked like their offense was going well, and we weren't. They rallied a lot and putts. They were away, but we didn't do that.”
As for Newington, they've been experiencing the opposite of what's been happening in New Britain lately. After starting 7-3, the Nor'easters have lost four straight and are currently 7-7, the same record as New Britain, sitting at .500.
Don't get me wrong, the Nor'easters lost out to some tough competition. As Burns said, CCC may be the strongest they've been this season so far. They lost to Simsbury (13-0), Farmington (12-1), Maloney (9-5) and most recently New Britain (7-7).
New Britain will look to carry that momentum into Wednesday's game against the Farmington River Hawks. The River Hawks hold a 12-1 record and are one of the top teams in the CCC Conference after a 3-2 win over the Maloney Spartans on Monday. If they win, the Golden Hurricanes will qualify for the playoffs.
Abraham said he is aware of the challenges his team will face Wednesday and is prepared for it.
Newington will look to end their losing streak at four when they face the Windsor Warriors on Wednesday. If they win, they will advance to the postseason.
“CCC is brutal this year. So far we haven't gotten the wins we expected, so we have to get the win on Wednesday,” Burns said.