By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL — After a stellar scholastic career, Bristol Eastern volleyball star Hannah Webber knew she wanted to compete at the collegiate level.

Webber, a sensational middle hitter, was one of the driving forces on the Lancers’ 2021 CCC Tournament championship squad while Eastern was one match away from earning a Class L title berth.

Webber has good size for the NCAA Division I level and the talented athlete is taking her skills to Merrimack College — intent on helping the young program into its third and fourth steps of Division I play, competing against a higher level of competition.

The former Division II program, a former member of the Northeast-10 Conference, jumped up a major rung in women’s athletics and Webber is certainly ready and eager for the challenge of NCAA Division I athletics.

Webber’s time at Bristol Eastern helped her prepare for a collegiate journey after a stellar career for the Lancers.

The Central Connecticut Conference is a hotbed for volleyball, one of the toughest leagues in the state.

Webber led the Eastern program with 562 kills, dropped down 84 aces, and blocked 30 shots — all team-leading totals.

Defensively, she boosted up 133 digs to help the Lancers start its offense.

Webber was one of three players for the Kingstreeters to play a team-high 95 sets, averaging a program best 5.9 kills-per-set.

She led the squad in hitting percentage with a .267 clip and ended up second on the program in receptions with 388.

Webber earned several awards along the way over a tremendous senior campaign in 2021.

She was elected to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Senior All-Star volleyball Team and was named to the 2021 AVCA High School All Region 1 squad.

Webber also earned CCC South All-Conference honors along with teammates Lauren Bender and Abby Jones.

She had an eventful postseason, dropping in 22 kills against Torrington, another 17 versus Windsor, while scooping up 24 kills and two blocks in a sweep against St. Joseph.

In her final scholastic match against Simsbury, Webber blasted the Trojans for 17 kills and two aces over a tough 3-0 losing effort.

In that showdown against Torrington, Webber flipped down her 500th kill which was a tremendous accomplishment by the senior standout.

In the CCC Tournament championship game against Simsbury (3-1) on the road, Webber dropped the hammer down on the Trojans with 35 kills to help the Lancers snare the title.

Her CCC Tournament was tremendous off Eastern’s 4-0 run that ended with a conference championship.

Webber nearly scooped up 130 kills over CCC postseason play to pace Eastern’s offensive assault.

She was tremendous all season long, whether it was a 43 kill, five ace, and nine dig performance against Conard in an upset 3-2 CCC Tournament win or spiking down 21 kills in a 3-0 win against crosstown rival Bristol Central.

Over her senior season, Webber earned several awards including MaxPreps/AVCA Player of the Week honors.

Very soon, she’ll be competing collegiately at Merrimack — nestled in North Andover, Mass., which is just a stone’s throw away from Boston.

The college has over 22 teams participating in intercollegiate sports with women’s programs making up 13 of those squads.

The Warriors recently joined the ranks of NCAA Division I in 2019 — starting off with eight home matches as a member school in the Northeast Conference.

Webber will be joining a very diverse roster, linking up with players from all over the United States.

And when Webber helps the program to its next win, it will be its first match victory in quite some time.

Merrimack did not win a match in 2021 — going 0-29 last year — but if the program can add talented individuals with the abilities of Webber, the women’s volleyball team isn’t too far away from that badly needed victory.

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