By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Whenever the Bristol Eastern volleyball team starts its Class L postseason run, opponents are never in for an easy ride.
And that jaunt commenced on Tuesday night as the eleventh ranked Lancers swept No. 22 South Windsor by a 3-0 final to advance in tournament play.
Set scores were 25-17, 25-18, and 25-18 as senior Lauren Bender (12 kills, four digs) and the rest of the Eastern crew got to the pay window early and often over first round play against the pesky Warriors (9-12).
“It was very important to us,” said Bender of the victory. “We worked very hard for this, and I think that we stayed focused throughout all three sets. We played a very clean game.”
The win sees the Kingstreeters advance into second round play against No. 6 Stratford on Thursday.
Stratford was a 3-0 victor against No. 27 Wethersfield on Tuesday via set scores of 25-12, 25-14 and 25-21.
Serve-receive was an issue for Windsor from the start as Eastern was able to ramp up a double-figure ace tally.
Emily Valentine (five digs) led the charge with six aces which helped extend Eastern leads and limited any kind of momentum the Warriors were able to cobble together throughout the three games.
“One of our strategies is to serve aggressively,” said Eastern coach Stefanie Reay. “They were placing their serves smart. They were putting it in the seams, and they were targeting someone who made a mistake.”
Emily Valentine’s serves set the tone to open the first set as Eastern raced out to a 6-1 edge.
That cushion was extended to 10 midway through the period and when Gabby Caucci (three kills, eight digs) made a loud swing to score a kill, the Lancers seized a 20-10 edge.
The Warriors chopped the deficit to six late, but Bender flipped over a shot, Windsor sent it right back but off one final hit by the senior standout, the ball never returned over the net as Eastern squared away a 25-17 victory in set one.
“There was a little bit of nerves obviously. We’re in the state tournament,” said Bender. “But I think we got our nerves out in the first game. Then we started to clean up our game and get over our mistakes and everything.”
Over second set play, Windsor snared its only leads of the match early but once Emily Valentine started dropping bombs down from the service line, the Lancers went on a 7-0 run to scoop up a 9-2 push.
Windsor hung around midway through the stanza and off an unreturnable serve by Aleyna Romero and block from Tahjae Daley – coupled with an Eastern miscue – the Warriors had the deficit chopped to 17-13 and were hanging around.
“They did a great job,” said Reay of Windsor. “Their defense was all over the place. They were all over the place at the net and they were fighting for sure.”
Eastern regrouped, got a good swing from Lilli Lowe (three kills, three digs) and when Emily Valentine dropped in another ace, Eastern was back in charge at 21-14.
One final bad serve by Windsor ended the second set as Eastern scooped up a 25-18 win, putting the home team on the brink of a sweep.
Valentine was at it again in the third set, putting down serves Windsor couldn’t handle, but it was a 4-4 stalemate before the Lancers snatched the lead for good.
Adrianna Reay (six kills) started to heat up at the net and when Bender jammed in an ace, the Lancers etched up a 10-5 lead, never looking back.
Midway through the final set, Lowe blocked a shot for a point, Bender sent over a ball that was never returned and when Reay dropped in a slick kill from the middle, Eastern’s edge was 19-13 as the home squad was about to close the contest out.
To end the match, Alyssa Valentine (23 assists) dumped over a shot that was mishandled, Windsor fumbled the ensuing point and Caucci’s final serve rumbled around the vents in the ceiling – finally falling on the court for the game-winning point – as Eastern was victorious over the 25-18 third set for the 3-0 sweep.
“I think it’s a good start to the tournament,” said Reay of the win. “I think there’s a lot that we can improve upon. But we did a good job of being able to make a mistake and come right back and make a point. I think we’re in a good spot [in] where we need to be right now.”
Thursday’s challenge at Stratford commences at 6 p.m. and Bender – a warrior of postseason play for the Lancers over the years – knows the mentality Eastern must have on the road in order to advance to the quarterfinal round.
“Just playing for each other, that’s always been our main motivation,” said Bender. “And whenever we keep that in mind, we always play our best game.”
NOTES… Andrea Martir-Perez added six digs to the winning effort while Jayna Hatcher also bumped one up…The Eastern volleyball program has played in the state tournament every season since 1995. In 1994, the Lancers went 8-10 and did not qualify for the playoffs…Over that successful stretch, the Lancers have competed for five Class L titles, winning it all in 2005, 2006 and 2012.
CIAC Class L Volleyball, Round 1
No. 11 BRISTOL EASTERN 3, No. 22 WINDSOR 0
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol
Set Scores: 25-17, 25-18, and 25-18
Lead changes: 2
Ties: 3
Highlights – Bristol Eastern: Emily Valentine six aces, five digs; Lauren Bender 12 kills, four digs; Adrianna Reay six kills; Lilly Lowe three kills, three digs; Gabby Caucci three kills, eight digs; Andrea Martir-Perez six digs; Jayna Hatcher one dig; Alyssa Valentine 23 assists.
Records: Bristol Eastern 12-8 overall; Windsor 9-12.
