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Ian Yale

The Central Connecticut State University’s volleyball team lost three sets to none to the Saint Francis University Red Flash at Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday, Oct. 14.

CCSU kept pace early in the first set but could not hold on as SFU took the set 25-18.

In the second set, the Blue Devils lost 25-9. Central was much more competitive in the third set but could not pull it out, losing the final set 25-17.

The story of the game was that CCSU struggled to score points. Junior Lauren Milani and freshman Victoria Sanabria led the offense with five kills each, while sophomore Weronika Poczynek contributed four of her own.

Poczynek had a rare off-match, committing seven errors. But, she knows what she needs to do moving forward, she said.

“I’m going to focus more on taking good reps and practicing passing,” Poczynek said. “I think that’s what I missed today.”

Sanabria, whose five kills came on a very efficient ten attempts with just one error, helped compensate for Poczynek’s poor play.

Playing as a hitter, Milani showed her versatility by posting the second-most attempts and third-highest percentage on the team.

As a team, the offense put up just 21 kills to 22 errors. Head coach Linda Sagnelli said she knows this is not a representation of the team’s ability.

“We know we’re much better than that. We know that we have a lot of work to do, and we have played so much better than what we showed today,” Sagnelli said. “I don’t think any of our players are happy with any of the sets that we played today. We know we can do much better.”

Defensively, the Blue Devils showed significant promise despite the lopsided scores. The team totaled six blocks, including a solo block from Sanabria. She also assisted on four other blocks, leading the team. Milani and senior Isabelle Roufs contributed two assists each.

Poczynek and Milani handled most of the receiving, combining for 53 of the team’s 63 receptions and just two errors. Milani also came up with ten digs.

Junior Isabella Bratzke, who got the start at libero, contributed seven receptions and five digs. Freshman Kylee Baranski added five digs of her own.

After the game, the team had a long postgame conversation in the locker room, which Bratzke spoke positively about.

“The takeaway was that now we know our ‘bad,’” Bratzke said. “[We] can literally only go up from here. I think that’s where we’re at, and we’re going to work with that.”

Bratzke and Milani have been rotating in at libero, along with junior Margaret Nolan, and the decision by Sagnelli to start Bratzke was purely matchup-based.

“We wanted a different matchup today, to have Lauren [Milani] in the front, swinging,” Sagnelli said. “She has a very good line swing, and they would give a little room between the pin and the outside hand of the end blocker.”

Staying positive on the court has been a big point of emphasis for the Blue Devils, Bratzke said. Even through a tough match, the team kept it light.

“It’s extremely important,” Bratzke said. “If I see Weronika smiling next to me, I’m going to feel a lot better, more comfortable, and more confident.”

The Blue Devils will be playing with a high level of intensity throughout the remainder of the season.

“As a team, we don’t have anything to lose,” Poczynek said. “We are going to do everything possible to win.”