The Darien Blue Wave capped a phenomenal boys volleyball season by sweeping past East Hartford, 3-0, to win the CIAC Class L championship Thursday night in East Haven.
The second-seeded Wave defeated No. 4 East Hartford by scores of 25-14, 25-19, and 25-16.
It was Darien’s third state championship and its first since 2011, when it defeated Newington, 3-2, in the Class M final. The Wave had reached the Class L final in each of the past two seasons, but was defeated in the final by the Ridgefield Tigers both times, 3-1 in 2015 and 3-2 in 2016.
This year, Darien faced Ridgefield in the Class L semifinals, fell behind 2-0 and rallied for a 3-2 win 23-25, 14-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13. The Wave also defeated the Tigers, 3-0, in this year’s FCIAC championship match.
Senior co-captains Alex Preston and Tim Herget both had huge performances in their final game in Blue Wave uniforms, as Preston collected 15 kills and three blocks, and Herget had 11 kills and 13 service points.
“It was so exciting,” Herget told Anthony Parelli of the Stamford Advocate. “All the hard work and effort, the blood, sweat and tears put into four years in the program with my best friends — there’s no other feeling like it.”
For more on this story, click the links below.
• Darien sweeps East Hartford to win state volleyball championship
• Wave spikes states, paced by Hergets and Preston