Ludlowe girls volleyball blasts Ridgefield for fourth straight win

Meghan Skelton really likes the way her Fairfield Ludlowe girls volleyball team is playing.

And that's saying something.

The Falcons polished off their fourth straight win with a dominant 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-15) victory over Ridgefield on Wednesday night in Fairfield.

"They're always a very tough team," Ludlowe's head coach, Skelton, said.

Falcons senior captain Emily Nelson led the team with 13 aces and 10 kills. Junior Casey Boatwright added two aces, five kills, three blocks and four digs and senior setter Kelly Rotondo had 21 assists and four digs.

"It's just a team effort that we're all clicking," Nelson said.

Ludlowe (7-1) has lost just one game since its Sept. 21 loss to Darien. But Skelton's pleased mostly with her squad's consistency in its last two games. The Falcons blasted 5-2 Stamford, 3-0, on Monday, then blitzed the Tigers (6-3) on Wednesday.

"Since Stamford, I've been pleased," Skelton said. "I've been trying to figure out a lineup ... I have high expectations of my girls, it's just a matter of doing it."

The Falcons built big leads in each game. Ludlowe led 13-3 in game one, 9-3 in game two and 7-3 in the final game.

"It's so important that we're serving well and serving tough," Skelton said.

Yet Ludlowe appeared jittery at points, hitting shots long and committing unforced errors that allowed the Tigers to rally in each game. Ridgefield cut the Falcons' advantage to 19-16 in game one.

"Sometimes they just want it too bad," Skelton said. "We have to play calm, cool and collected with intensity all at the same time."

Nelson stepped up to serve and gained the next five sevice points, including an ace and a key block from Boatwright to lift Ludlowe's lead to 24-16. The Falcons won 25-18 on Nelson's powerful kill.

"I think our serves have been consistent," Boatwright said. "They've gotten us on some big runs."

Nelson had three straight aces in game two and Jennifer Elsaesser recorded her three aces in game two as Ludlowe built a 15-8 lead. Jaime Quinn's four service points boosted that edge to 19-10, and Lexi Cardenas' ace clinched the 25-14 win.

After falling behind in game three, Ridgefield rallied behind senior Lauren Liederbach's serving and some Ludlowe unforced errors. The Tigers took their lone lead 10-9.

"We get into a lull at times," Boatwright said, "but we got out of it fast. We're getting much better at that."

But thanks to Nelson's two key kills and Cardenas' one, Ludlowe re-built a 17-11 lead. The confdient Nelson cinched the straight-set win earning three aces, with Elsaesser gaining a block and a kill as the Falcons surged to a seven-point run.

"(Nelson) has always struggled with confidence on her jump-serve," Skelton said. "But she's gained (confidence) and she has an excellent serve."

Boatwright's kill clinched game three, 25-15.

"We're playing really well together now," Boatwright said. "We're hoping for more of that."

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