By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – COVID-19 attempted to completely derail the postseason for the Bristol Central volleyball team.
Too bad the pandemic didn’t stand a chance in that endeavor.
Despite not being able to practice for a full week, with only two substitute players available on the bench, and having all of its coaching staff quarantined at home, a special group of volleyball players from Central defied all the odds to win one final playoff match.
And it took some doing against an excellent Avon squad.
Trailing 1-0, the Rams won three straight sets to post a 3-1 victory over the Falcons in the CCC, Region B Consolation game on Friday evening.
Game scores were 22-25, 25-20, 25-19 and 25-23.
It was the final match for Central seniors Kayla St. Onge, Jadyn Bauer, Brooke Soucy, Gwen Torreso, Destiny Potter and Emily Ericson.
“It was really fun,” said Ericson. “I was really glad to play [Avon] in our last game.”
Central had an excellent campaign, going 11-2 overall and winning its only postseason contest.
Ericson wrapped up her final match with 23 kills, three aces, and eight digs while Bauer added 16 kills and eight digs.
Madison Lodovico played well, tallying four kills and two blocks, Torreso – Central’s outstanding setter – collected 49 assists, 20 digs and three aces. Olivia Clingan (two kills) also provided support, while Soucy played her usual brand of defense for 18 digs.
St. Onge (seven kills, two digs) manned the right side with zest and Potter added three digs in a reserve role for the Rams.
And in an amazing display, Bristol Central coach Lancer Pepper and his assistants all watched the match from a flat screen TV stationed in the corner of the court by the Rams’ bench.
But the situation was truly interactive as Pepper called out instructions during play, conducted timeouts – TV timeouts if you will – and gave plenty of encouragement all the way until the final point was tallied.
And to top off a strange night of volleyball, Gail Ericson – the longtime and extremely successful volleyball coach from Bristol Eastern days gone by – sat on the Rams’ bench, cheering on her daughter Emily and the entire team.
“I’m just so proud of the girls and Lance for making sure that this happened,” said Gail Ericson. “I mean, this has been a horrible week for these girls, and for them to put this together for these girls, the administration here at Central, the Central board made this happen.”
“It’s just incredible.”
Avon (9-6) had more than a couple dangerous players who helped win the first set despite being down eight points late – avoiding a sweep.
Kelli Raines scooped up 16 kills while teammate Kate Wankier (10 kills, two blocks) was a force in the middle, causing havoc on both sides of the net.
Wren Worth, a talented libero, flipped in tough serves (three aces) and bumped up some of Central’s loud swings with 22 digs.
Eliza Jones added seven kills and four blocks, while setter Jocelyn Powers (38 assists) led the charge in the Falcons’ passing schemes.
But the match belonged to the home team and the only rust the program showed was at the end of the first set when Avon came from behind to steal the game.
“It really came down to communication,” said Ericson about the difference in the match. “Like when we were talking to each other, we just played better. When we got excited after we got a kill, it all seemed to work out better than when we didn’t [talk].”
And it was all Central early as St. Onge dumped in a kill, and on a big swing by Ericson, the home team led 7-1 to start the opening set.
The Falcons eventually chopped the deficit to two but the Rams went on a bit of a run and when Lodovico blocked a shot that wasn’t returned – followed by kills from Bauer and Ericson – Central led by eight, 16-8.
The Rams’ cushion was 18-10 moments later just before a 15-4 burst by Avon ended the set in a Falcons’ victory.
Raines tossed up serves that weren’t returned, Wankier flashed in a couple kills but late in the fray, St. Onge unleashed a kill from the right side to post Central to a 21-20 edge.
Avon went on to score five of the final six points in the set as the visiting outfit picked up a 25-22 win to go up 1-0 in the match.
In the second set, Central led nearly wire-to-wire.
The Rams were in front by three early until a sweet short set by Torreso found Lodovico for a huge kill and when Soucy slipped in an ace, Central nabbed a 10-5 edge.
The Falcons eventually tied up the set but Bauer tallied three straight Central kills and when another serve from Soucy was not returned, the Rams’ 18-15 lead was just enough to keep Avon at bay.
And when the teams exchanged bad serves to end the set, Central nabbed a 25-20 win to tie the match up at 1-1.
The third game saw four lead changes and nine ties – giving the set a ‘who-wants-it-more’ vibe. Jones flipped in a kill midway through the period as Avon held a slim 16-15 lead, but Central made all the plays late as Ericson put the squad on her back.
She jammed in a huge swing from the left side, then dropped in two aces. Coupled with two Avon miscues, Central led 20-16 and the squad never looked back.
“We just tried to go around” those blockers on the front line said Ericson. “We tried to get different sets and work it out.”
In the end, the Rams’ prevailed by a 25-19 score, led 2-1 in match play and were looking to close out the contest in the fourth set.
But Avon refused to yield because midway through the period, a Raines kill from the left side made it a 11-6 game and the visiting aggression had a fifth set on their minds.
Central came roaring back as Ericson dropped in a ball for a point and as errors began to mount for Avon, the Rams held a slim 15-14 push.
The Falcons eventually surged back to gain the lead, 19-16. Pepper called one last TV timeout as he steadied his troops for a game-ending run.
Trailing by three late, Central ended the affair with a 9-4 burst – including three kills from Ericson – as the Rams won game four, 25-23, and took the match three-sets-to-one as the senior contingent at BC seized the victory for one final time.
