Fontbonne Hall did everything it wanted for a set. The Bonnies served well, played great defense, got big blocks and put the ball down on attacks.
When they took that first one from St. Francis Prep, they celebrated wildly. But that was the last time Fontbonne would do that in a 21-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-13 loss to SFP in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I girls volleyball Monday. The Bonnies (8-2), who will settle for second place, never could put those things together again versus the three-time defending champs.
“I don’t know if they just let the air out of their bubble for a minute,” Strong said. “Then they couldn’t get the momentum back.”
Fontbonne got a 3-0 service run of all aces from junior setter Katie Lang and a 6-0 service run by senior middle Amanda Glodowski in that first set. Junior middle Lauren Ganun had six of her 10 kills then and both of her blocks.
“We know they can be beaten,” Strong said. “We know that we can beat them. We just have to keep our game going and mix it up a little bit more.”
Strong said that Ganun injured her finger on a block in the second set and that made her gun shy the rest of the way. That and St. Francis Prep’s ability to set different players gave the Terriers (9-0) a significant advantage. Too many times there were no Fontbonne blockers for an attack by Talia Colasante (18 kills) or Julia Paternoster (nine kills).
“We could not stop them, try as we might,” Strong said.
The performance was an improvement over the season opener when SFP swept Fontbonne, so the Bonnies were not entirely disappointed. But they did feel like they would beat the Terriers, the team that defeated them in last year’s Brooklyn/Queens championship match and the 2008 semis.
Strong made some adjustments since the first time around and they did work at times. More than anything, Fontbonne tried to quicken its attacks more with the level of competition increasing. The Bonnies play in the Tottenville tournament Saturday before the B/Q playoffs next week.
“We know what’s out there,” Strong said.
