By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – For the 55th consecutive match, the Bristol Eastern volleyball team defeated crosstown rival Bristol Central – this time in a 3-0 sweep from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium on Monday evening.
Set scores in the CCC South confrontation were 25-21 and 25-14 over the first two games before Central forced a bit of overtime in the final bout.
Amazing Rally clinches Set 3
The Lancers trailed 24-16 in the final set, and then staged an incredible rally, scoring ten straight points to post a 26-24 win to stave off the Rams. Abby Jones served with great effect during the streak and Hannah Webber dominated the net.
Asked about the end to set three, Coach Stefanie Reay said, “I told them, our goal has been to finish, and there is no better time to do it, but you have to do it one point at a time.” Then the Lancers went out and did exactly that. Match over.
Eastern moved to 13-5 over the winning effort while Central fell to 14-5.
And once again, Webber led the charge for the Kingstreeters with 21 kills, five aces, and five digs while setter Jones collected 30 assists, five digs, and a couple aces to complete a busy day of action.
Alex Shorette added four kills and nine digs while Lilli Lowe (two kills, two blocks, three digs) did a little of everything for the Lancers.
Lauren Bender nabbed seven kills and 10 digs, Sarah Lacouture bumped up 10 digs while Adrianna Reay added a block to the winning effort.
Central had numerous standouts as well as Brooke Valentino collected five kills and four digs, Olivia Clingan led the Rams with six kills and nearly a half-dozen blocked shots while Maddy Lodovico dropped in five kills and six digs.
Also for the visiting aggression, Sarah Romano (five aces), Alex Rivera (two aces, five digs), Samantha Sklenka, (four aces, 25 digs, 14 assists) and Grace Higgins (three digs) all kept the Rams in contention.
The Lancers, grabbing a huge victory against Central after two five-set battles at Conard and Southington over the last week or so, concludes its 2021 portion of the regular season on Friday in a home meet against New Britain – set for 5 p.m.
Central, winners of six of its past eight matches, is back in action tonight against Conard in a CCC Interdivisional tilt at 6:30 p.m. from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at BCHS.
CITY SERIES VOLLEYBALL
BRISTOL EASTERN 3, BRISTOL CENTRAL 0
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium from the campus of Bristol Eastern
Set Scores: 25-21, 25-14, and 26-24
Highlights – Bristol Central: Brooke Valentino, 5 kills, 4 digs; Olivia Clingan, 6 kills, 6 blocks; Maddy Lodovico, 5 kills, 6 digs; Sarah Romano, 5 aces; Alex Rivera, 2 aces, 5 digs; Samantha Sklenka, 4 aces, 25 digs, 14 assists; Grace Higgins, 3 digs; Bristol Eastern: Hannah Webber, 21 kills, 5 aces, 5 digs; Abby Jones, 2 aces, 30 assists, 5 digs; Alex Shorette, 4 kills, 9 digs; Lilli Lowe, 2 kills, 2 blocks, 3 digs; Sarah Lacouture, 10 digs; Lauren Bender, 2 aces, 7 kills, 10 digs; Adrianna Reay, 1 block.
Records: Bristol Eastern 13-5 overall; Bristol Central 14-5
