By Michael Letendre

Tonight, the Bristol Eastern volleyball team (17-5) goes for the biggest prize the conference has to offer.

And the Lancers are locked and loaded for the finals of the 2021 Central Connecticut Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship — looking for one more payoff before the playoffs commence.

No. 7 Eastern has performed with inspiration and all the hard work during regular season play has paid off with a title bout against No. 9 Simsbury (17-5).

“It means everything,” said Eastern’s Alex Shorette about playing in the championship game. “It’s my last year. Me, Hannah, Abby…it’s our last year and we could not be more thankful of our team to be able for us to work together and be a family out on that court.”

“And to be able to play [today] and say that we made it to the finals of the CCC’s is just an amazing feeling.”

The championship game actually takes place from Simsbury High School at 6 p.m.

It’s a strange quirk as the Trojans, who will be the visiting team, are home for the final match.

However, Simsbury is going to have its hands full against a surging Bristol Eastern squad.

“The girls are so excited,’ said Eastern coach Stefanie Reay. “It’s exactly what they’ve been working for. They’ve earned it. They’ve worked their butts off in practice and in the games. And they earned it for sure.” 

Hannah Webber, Lauren Bender, Abby Jones, Adrianna Reay, Alyssa Adorno, Alyssa Valentine, Sarah Lacouture, Jayna Hatcher, Shorette and the entire crew is looking for that CCC Tournament championship on their way to the Class L state tournament fray.

How did we get to the CCC Volleyball Tournament Finals?

Here’s a quick look:

No. 7 Bristol Eastern (17-5)

*Defeated No. 10 Plainville, 3-0 (25-4, 25-16, 25-11) on Monday.

*Beat No. 2 Conard of West Hartford on the road, 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 15-11) this past Tuesday. 

*Dropped No. 6 Simsbury, 3-1 (20-25,25-20,25-11,25-19) on Thursday to get to the finals.

No. 9 Simsbury

*Turned away No. 8 South Windsor, 3-2, on the road on Monday

*Upset top-seeded RHAM, 3-2 (26-24,8-25,23-25,25-23,15-11) in Hebron on Tuesday.

*In one final upset on Thursday, the squad defeated No. 5 Southington, 3-1 (25-16,25-12,14-25,25-22) to set up the final match against Eastern.