There were two all-state girls volleyball teams selected this season and the FCIAC had strong representation on both of them combined.
Aerin Bowman of Darien, Trumbull’s Ali Castro and Greenwich’s Lilly Saleeby were selected to the eight-player Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Girls Volleyball Class LL First Team and they were also three of the five conference players who were among the dozen on the 2020 GameTimeCT All-State Girls Volleyball First Team.
Each organization uses a different format with which they select their respective all-state teams.
The CHSCA selected eight players each on the Class LL first team and Class LL second team, while seven players each made their respective Class L, Class M and Class S first teams and second teams for a combined 58 players who earned all-state honors.
There were eight girls from the conference who earned some form of CHSCA all-state recognition and all of them were on either Class LL or Class L teams because the FCIAC consists mostly of large schools and there are no conference schools in either Class M or Class S.
GameTimeCT selects 44 total players – 12 on its all-state first team, another dozen on the all-state second team, and 20 more who earned honorable mention. The FCIAC had 14 players who earned GameTimeCT all-state kudos – five on the first team, four on the second team and five who made honorable mention.
Bailey Cenatiempo of Trumbull and New Canaan’s Elle Sneddon were both selected to the CHSCA All-State Second Team and they also joined Bowman, Castro and Saleeby on the GameTimeCT All-State Girls Volleyball First Team.
Bowman, Darien’s junior opposite hitter, led the Blue Wave with 197 kills and 23 blocks and she also contributed 31 aces and 81 digs. She was especially stellar in the FCIAC West Region Girls Volleyball Tournament. Bowman had 18 kills and 15 digs in Darien’s 3-1 semifinal victory over Westhill. Then she followed that up with 17 kills and 14 digs in the championship match which Greenwich won by a 3-2 margin.
Castro was a senior setter who was instrumental and helping Trumbull win its first FCIAC championship in 2018 and then its first state Class LL championship the following year when she was a junior. This past fall season Castro led the Eagles with 370 assists. She also had 87 digs, 31 ages and 17 kills, which culminated with Trumbull winning the FCIAC East Region championship with a 3-0 victory over Fairfield Ludlowe. Castro, the MVP of FCIAC tournament as a sophomore, made the CHSCA Class LL First Team for the second consecutive year.
Saleeby also made the CHSCA Class LL First Team for the second straight year. The senior outside hitter racked up 15 kills and 24 digs to help lead Greenwich to a 3-2 victory over Darien in the FCIAC West Region championship game. Saleeby, who will be a student-athlete at Colgate University, had 100 kills, 26 aces and 103 digs this past season.
Cenatiempo, a senior outside hitter, ended her great career in fine fashion with 13 kills and 17 digs in Trumbull’s East Region championship victory over Ludlowe. The four-year starter led the Eagles with 140 kills and 137 digs this year to finish her career with 681 kills and 683 digs.
Sneddon, a senior setter, concluded an excellent two-year run with 92 assists, 57 digs, 51 kills and 31 aces in 10 matches this past fall. She finished her career with 691 assists, 321 digs, 115 kills and 108 aces. As a junior in 2019 she made the All-FCIAC First Team, the CHSCA Class LL All-State First Team and was chosen the CHSCA Player of the Year.
Greenwich senior middle blocker Cornelia Roach was selected to the CHSCA Class LL All-State Second Team and the GameTimeCT All-State Second Team.
Danbury senior Ryan Hicks was chosen to the CHSCA Class LL All-State Second Team and St. Joseph senior Jenna Koonitsky made the CHSCA Class L All-State Second Team.
In addition to Roach, the three other players from the FCIAC who made the GameTimeCT All-State Second Team were Fairfield Ludlowe senior libero Allie Clark, Westhill senior setter Vana Servos and Greenwich junior outside hitter Adele Sotgiu.
The five conference players who earned GameTimeCT All-State Honorable Mention included Westhill senior libero Maddy Bautista, Fairfield Warde senior middle hitter Stewart Gaillard, Stamford senior libero Kady Green, Darien senior setter Rachel Herget and Staples junior outside hitter Allison Schwartz.
The FCIAC honored a combined 23 players by selecting three all-region teams in November.
Castro and Cenatiempo from region champion Trumbull, Gabby Price and Clark from Fairfield Ludlowe, Gaillard from Fairfield Warde, and Brittany Mairano and Koonitsky from St. Joseph made the FCIAC All-East Region Team.
Annabelle Iannone and Allison Schwartz from region champion Staples, Isabella Arvanitis and China Tinnen from Norwalk, Kathleen Cummings and Hicks from Danbury, Ridgefield’s Catherine Maguire and Wilton’s Kendall Scholz were chosen to the FCIAC All-Central Region Team.
The FCIAC All-West Region Team consisted of Saleeby, Sotgiu and Roach of region champion Greenwich, Darien’s Bowman and Herget, Westhill’s Bautista and Servos, and Stamford’s Green.