By Michael Letendre
(This is part 3 of a 4 part series)
BRISTOL – From 1977 until 1983, the Bristol Central volleyball program didn’t have any success against its crosstown rival.
The series was one-sided with just one five-set war and four, four-set games over that slew of matches – all going in Bristol Eastern’s favor.
With all that dominance, wasn’t it time for Central to have a little bit of on court success against Eastern?
Fortunes changed for the Rams in 1984 as Central finally defeated Eastern via a 3-0 sweep behind set scores of 15-9, 15-6, and 15-7.
Laura Fortier, Paula Roy, Tracie Blair, and Patricia Burk led the Central charge while Maureen O’Keefe played well for Eastern.
It was a big moment for the program but to end the regular season, could the Rams pull off a consecutive victory against the Lancers?
Was a sweep even possible?
It would take some doing but Central was able to stave off Eastern over a five-set confrontation.
Scores were 13-15, 15-11, 15-13, 2-15, and 15-4.
Beth Harris and Fortier helped lead the charge by Central.
The season sweep was impressive, the Rams ended the regular season at 12-6 – ranked No. 12 in the Class M tournament fray – while Eastern finished at .500 and qualified for the postseason in the final position at No. 21.
The qualification level for state tournament play in scholastic volleyball was a 9-9 ledger (.500) and that’s where Eastern finished in the regular season.
So, what were the chances Central and Eastern would meet in the state tournament after Central finally shutout the Lancers?
That possibility came to fruition as the two squads from Bristol squared off for the third time in 1984 – this time in a Class M qualifying match.
And what was the chance that Central could defeat Eastern for a third time in the same season?
November 5 was the date, the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at Bristol Central was the place but the higher seed could not earn the win in the end.
The Rams took the first set but Eastern won the other three, seizing a 3-1 victory behind scores of 7-15, 15-5, 15-10, and 15-10 in a tough and stunning loss.
Anne Wisyanski, Lauren Mascola, Donyale Pina, Debbie Siemiatkoski, Stacy Mills, Jodi Plawecki and O’Keefe helped Eastern in the victorious effort against Central.
The next day, Wethersfield foiled the Lancers in first round play but a chance for three straight wins for Central over Eastern did not happen.
And in 1985, it was a strange year for the Lancers as the program split against the Rams and failed to qualify for the postseason under head coach Gail McMahon (Ericson).
Eastern missed the state tournament just twice over her tenure as coach, the second time coming in 1994 when the Lancers duplicated the same 8-10 record.
But the rivalry in 1985 saw Central win the first showdown, downing Eastern 3-1 as the Rams won its third straight regular season match over the Lancers.
Set scores were 15-5, 10-15, 15-10, and 15-1 as Geri Ristow (13 kills), Amy Gibson, and Tracie Blair nearly collected a combined three dozen service points.
Jen Godin also dropped in 10 service points to lead the winners.
And then in the rematch, Eastern had to defeat Central, Bulkeley and Farmington to qualify for state tournament play as the squad entered the tilt against the Rams with a 7-9 record.
The Lancers accomplished part one of their task in another thrilling five set battle, defeating the Rams, 3-2 (13-15, 15-7, 15-6, 10-15, and 15-7).
Lauren Ferrier, Wisyanski, Mills, Pina, and Siemiatkoski all had a hand in the must-win showdown.
Eastern then defeated Bulkeley the following day (15-3, 15-12, and 16-14) as the Lancers won five out of its last six matches to get on the doorstep of state tournament qualification.
But the Farmington match became a bit of a mess.
The Lancers fell in five sets, 3-2, ended the season at 8-10 and were out of the state tournament picture for the first time since 1981.
Eastern led the battle against the Indians but lost in the end by scores of 8-15, 15-9, 6-15, 15-10, and 15-9.
The match was played under protest as the start time was in question but nothing came of it and the ultimate result stood.
However, 1985 was quickly forgotten about as Eastern went on to play in two consecutive state title games, winning it all in 1987 against a powerful Platt squad from Meriden.
The Mum City squads swapped wins in 1986 as Eastern swept Central over its first encounter by scores of 15-8, 15-11, and 15-11 behind superior play from Lauren Ferrier, Kathy Ferrier, Cheryl Kaczmarczyk, Laura Forman, and Wisyanski before the Rams pulled off an upset in the rematch.
Led by Amy Gibson and Tracie Blair, Central hung a four-game loss on Eastern (15-12, 15-9, 11-15, and 15-10) to even the season series at 1-1.
Kathy Ferrier and Mills played well for Eastern (14-4) in defeat but that victory was going to be the last for quite some time for Central over its city rival.
In fact, the Rams weren’t going to beat the Kingstreeters at all over the next six years – spanning another championship run by Eastern in 1991.
In the postseason of 1986, the Lancers were the sixth ranked team, Central was rated No. 11 and guess what?
The teams battled once again in state tournament play – turning the bout into a rubber match of sorts between the schools.
In the first-round tilt, Eastern defeated Central, 3-1, from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium at Bristol Eastern.
The Lancers won by scores of 15-2, 0-15, 15-4, and 15-9 – surviving a second period drought that saw the program fail to tally a point.
Kathy Ferrier, Wisyanski, Adams, Mills, Forman, and Kaczmarczyk all led the charge for the victors.
Eastern later advanced to the finals of the Class M championship but was swept by Platt, 3-0 (15-6, 15-10, and 15-9).
And then in 1987, Eastern earned its first state championship in a rematch against those same Panthers, seizing the title by scores of 15-9, 11-15, 15-11, and 15-7 from Kennedy high school in Waterbury.
The epic adventures between the Central/Eastern volleyball teams continue tomorrow in the pages of TBE.
