By Michael Letendre 

SIMSBURY – With the top four programs eliminated from the 2021 Central Connecticut Conference Volleyball Tournament, the squad from Bristol Eastern was looking to advance to the final round in a semifinal confrontation against Glastonbury at Simsbury high school on Thursday. 

The teams already met once this season – waging a five-set war back on October 1 – as the Guardians came away with a 3-2 victory over the Lancers from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol. 

But this time around, it was the Kingstreeters getting to that all important pay window. 

No. 7 Eastern, in what could have been dubbed the ‘BE girls volleyball 2021 revenge tour’ stopped No. 6 Glastonbury in a 3-1 victory – moving to 17-5 overall this year – and advancing to the championship round.

Set scores were 20-25, 25-20, 25-11, and 25-19 as Eastern is looking to add a little hardware to its already jam-packed trophy case at the school.

“I’m so proud of my team,” said Eastern’s Alex Shorette. “We earned this game. I strongly believe that everybody participated in some positive way. We worked super hard in practice yesterday to be focused and ready today. And I know we lost the first set but that fueled us to keep playing and playing. We put our hearts on the court today.”

And in another major upset, after Eastern bounced Glastonbury, No. 9 Simsbury defeated No. 5 Southington – three games to one to advance – to the CCC Tournament championship game this Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Trojans, by fate or by luck, ends up playing the final tournament game from their own home turf.

Against Glastonbury, all the stars came out to shine for the locals.

Eastern tallied up 46 total kills and the dynamic duo of Hannah Webber and Lauren Bender made all the big swings.

Webber etched up 28 kills and dropped in five aces and Bender was absolutely sensational with 18 kills, seven digs, and two aces over a showcase event.

“She’s been working so hard,” said Shorette of Bender. “And I think her and Hannah, they’re unstoppable right now. She’s worked so hard in practice to just be able to finish the ball and work on what she’s feeling like she’s not improving on which I feel like she’s been improving on completely.”

“Honestly, she just came out and was a powerhouse today.”

Shorette collected 12 digs, four aces and a blocked shot, Alyssa Adorno’s serves were causing the Guardians some real heartburn as she roped up three aces while Sarah Lacouture notched 13 digs. 

Abby Jones directed traffic with perfection, dishing out 42 assists, and Jayna Hatcher contributed two assists and a block over the winning effort.

Eastern coach Stefanie Reay said the words to describe Thursday afternoon’s victory included “poise and teamwork.”

Both those elements were evident early in set one as Bristol raced out to an 8-1 edge as Adorno’s serving was causing extreme problems for the Guardians.

But off that hot start, Glastonbury charged back with an 18-6 burst and when Bender’s attempt fell into the net, it was a 19-14 game.

Eastern followed up with a 5-1 run, trimming the deficit to 20-19 before Glastonbury put the frame away for good.

A couple loud swings by Eastern went long and off one final hit from the Madison Poetto propelled Glastonbury to a 25-20 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

However, Eastern had all the answers over the following three games.

The second set was a back and forth affair with Eastern grabbing various three point leads early just to watch the opponent battle back and steal the momentum.

The set saw three lead changes and nine ties before the Guardians nabbed their final edge at 19-18 which quickly fell apart.

Glastonbury had all sorts of trouble handling the serving of Shorette as she flashed in two aces over a 6-0 Eastern run – putting the Lancers at set point, 24-19.

After an Eastern miscue, the final Guardians serve by Rebecca Lavoie harmlessly flew over the back line and out, leading to a 25-20 win for the Lancers as the match was quickly a 1-1 affair.

In the third game, Glastonbury came out with a 4-1 edge but serve-receive became an issue once agains for the Guardians.

Eastern went on a 7-0 run as aces from Jones and slick play by Hatcher, including an assist and a sweet block, gave the Lancers an 8-4 push.

It never got any better for Glastonbury as Eastern was flirting with a double-figure lead.

Later in the stanza, Shorette blocked a shot that fell on the Guardians’ side of the court and when the senior from Bristol flipped down another serve that was not returnable, it was a 16-7 contest.

And then an 8-2 dash, led by serves from Adorno and loud kills by Webber, put Glastonbury at the brink and trailing 24-9.

There would not be any comeback as Jones served up a perfect ball to Webber and when her dagger struck pay dirt, the Lancers earned a 25-11 win in set three and earned a 2-1 match cushion.

And then there was an epic fourth set, a game that saw seven lead changes and 12 ties as Eastern roped up an 18-16 edge off a slick Bender kill that fell splat in the middle of the Guardians’ side of the floor.

“She’s done nice job all season,” said Reay of Bender. “And this game was no exception.”

The Lancers edge ballooned to five at 21-16 when Webber landed two aces and Bender swung down for another kill as Eastern was on the verge of a CCC Tournament title bout.

And one final Jones to Bender connection ended the match as Eastern won the set by a 25-19 push and took the match by a 3-1 score to advance to the CCC tournament finals.

“We put everything into that” win said Shorette. “We worked so hard and I’m so proud of everybody on the team. We’ll just going to keep working, and working, and working until the end. That’s really all.” 

Central Connecticut Conference Volleyball Tournament – Semifinal Round 

No. 7 BRISTOL EASTERN 3, No. 6 GLASTONBURY 1 

from Simsbury high school 

Set Scores: 20-25, 25-20, 25-11, and 25-19

Match lead changes: 13

Match ties: 24

Highlights: Bristol Eastern – Hannah Webber 28 kills, 5 aces; Lauren Bender 18 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces; Alex Shorette 12 digs, 4 aces, block; Alyssa Adorno 3 aces; Sarah Lacouture 13 digs; Abby Jones 42 assists; Jayna Hatcher 2 assists, block. 

Records: Bristol Eastern 17-5 overall; Glastonbury 16-5