By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – After making a tremendous comeback to tie the match up at 2-2, the Bristol Eastern volleyball squad had to hold on for dear life – all the way to the finish of a thrilling five set showdown against rival Bristol Central on Thursday evening.

In what turned into a 2:30 battle of wills, the Lancers were trailing midway in the fifth set as the Rams were just three points away from taking the match.

Down 12-9, Eastern went on a game-ending 6-0 run as Gabby Caucci served bombs the rest of the way while senior standout Adrianna Reay flipped down the final three points of the match as the Kingstreeters turned an 0-2 deficit into an improbable 3-2 victory from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium

“The whole team just brought me up so much,” said Adrianna Reay. “It was such a team effort. Everyone contributed. Everyone on the bench was so energetic. I’m just so proud of everyone.” 

Set Scores were 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-18 and 15-12 – providing fans the most entertaining bout between the schools since a five-set pandemic plagued 3-2 win by the Lancers at BCHS in a match that fans weren’t allowed to watch and Central head man Lance Pepper was forced to coach via TV as he had to isolate back on October 29, 2020.

But the most recent bout had it all with 13 lead changes, 18 ties and critical injuries to two players on the Central roster.

It didn’t matter as the Lancers weaved their way out of the tough set losses to secure the victory behind some truly outstanding play.

“The girls came in with a desire to fight until the very last second,” said Eastern coach Stefaine Reay. “We played every point, no matter what the score was. When we were up or when we were down, we played every point. We went for everything, and they didn’t let anything drop.” 

“I’m so proud of the girls and the fight that they showed the entire time regardless of the fact that we were down.”

Just one play into the fourth set, and the Rams ahead 2-1 in the match, Central’s leading hitter Lily Kirk (13 kills) fell to the court going after a ball and looked to have injured her back.

She had to be helped off the court but remained on the bench, cheering her squad on, over the remainder of the fourth set.

The Rams trailed by 14 points over that frame but trimmed the deficit to six late, falling 25-18 but the squad put together some lasting momentum to make a run over the final 15-point fifth set. 

“I think when you lose a key piece at the end of the third set going into the fourth, to throw a line-up out there when you’re down 13-1, to fight back and losing the fourth set 25-18, to come back in the fifth set, you can’t be any prouder of that group,” said Pepper of his crew. “I literally threw them into the fire, and they totally held their own.” 

Over first set play, neither squad held an edge of more than four points as Central led early off kills by Kirk and after an ace by the talented sophomore, it was a 10-6 game.

But Eastern responded later in the set and off a 9-2 burst, Reay (34 kills) slammed home a shot to give Eastern a 19-15 lead.

The Lancers, getting two kills from Gabby Caucci (18 kills, 22 digs), was able to construct a 23-19 lead and was on the verge of closing out the set.

“Gabby was fantastic,” said Reay of Caucci. “She has become such a smart player with respect to seeing the court and coming in at big moments. She’s just done a great job.” 

But Central ended the set on a 6-0 jaunt as Isabella Alves (half-dozen kills, four blocks) blocked and then tipped over a shot, setter Alex Rivera (35 assists) rejected an Eastern kill and when one final Eastern hit went long, the home team captured a 25-23 win in set one.

The Rams led set two wire to wire though the Lancers trimmed the deficit to one late.

Central led 6-2 off a slam by Kirk from the left side and when Leah Sklenka (two kills, eight digs) dropped in a ball that was never returned, the Rams were in charge, 16-11.

From there, Eastern used a mini 6-2 run as a Reay ace got the visitors within one at 18-17.

However, it was all Central from there – starting with a Kirk smash and ended when Reay’s kill was spiked into the net as the 25-21 win gave Central a commanding 2-0 lead in the match – meaning Eastern would have to make an epic comeback to steal the match away from Central.

Eastern led 8-3 early in the third set but an 8-1 Rams’ run – capped by a tip-over by Rivera – saw Central snare an 11-9 lead.

“The kid holds her own,” said Pepper of Rivera. “I’m going to be honest, she’s a little undersized but the way she gets up and the way she gets her hands on stuff, I’m so proud of that kid from where she was sophomore year.” 

The set went back and forth from there but with the game tied at 17-17, Eastern made all the moves late.

And 8-4 Lancers’ set ending run saw Katie Beaulieu drop in an ace, Caucci connecting on a beautiful setup from setter Naseem Hennouch – who tallied an incredible 50 assists – led to a kill and when one final Central serve went out of bounds, Eastern had a heartbeat – a 25-21 winner in set three as the match deficit was chopped to 2-1.

After Kirk was hurt to open the fourth set, the energy was zapped from Central and Eastern went to work, creating an imposing 13-1 cushion.

The Lancers were leading 18-5 before the Rams got back into contention as Rivera helped to set up Grace Higgins (13 kills, 27 digs) and the junior captain suddenly caught fire with swing after swing finding pay dirt.

“She really started to come around,” said Pepper of Higgins. “She realized that she was going to have to take more attempts. When Lily went down, we knew we had to feed the ball to her. She made the most of every opportunity.” 

Higgins made a huge dive for a save to keep the run alive and when Reay set a ball into the net, the deficit was chopped to 21-15.

Reay added a couple points late and when another bad serve foiled Central, Eastern won the fourth set 25-18 – tying the match up at 2-2 – but the Rams were still in it.

Errors hurt Eastern early in the fifth and final set but another Reay smash tied things up at 6-6 as it seemed like neither team was allowing the ball to fall cleanly to the court.

“These guys [Central] were fantastic. These guys are ridiculous,” said Reay. “And they fought, and they didn’t let anything drop. So, I’m just as proud of their team as I am of ours.” 

Higgins eventually tipped a shot over for a point and when Alves dropped down a long back-row ace, Central was three points away from wining the match (12-9).

But Eastern ended the event with six straight points as Reay notched the final three from the left side and when her final shot beat the defender, the Kingstreeters were celebrating an improbable five-set win on the road off the 15-12 set five triumph.

“It was so great,” said Reay of closing out the match. “Just to end on that was the best feeling.” 

While it was a staggering loss for Central, the squad was heroic to end the match and nearly pulled it off with Kirk not in the lineup.  

“To lose to a team by three points, it’s a testament of how hard these kids work and where their heart is,” said Pepper of Central. “It was total class out of these kids.” 

CCC South Volleyball – CCC South Showdown

BRISTOL EASTERN 3, BRISTOL CENTRAL 2

from the Pepper Dome, Bristol

Set Scores: 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-18 and 15-12

Lead changes: 13

Ties: 18

Highlights – Bristol Eastern: Adrianna Reay 34 kills, 24 digs, four aces, two blocks; Gabby Caucci 18 kills, 22 digs, two aces; Andrea Martir-Perez three aces, 25 digs; Samara Paranzino two kills, six digs; Savannah Drury 10 digs; Kamila Mateo-Rivera two blocks; Naseem Hennouch 50 assists, 19 digs; Bristol Central: Grace Higgins 13 kills,  27 digs; Lily Kirk 13 kills, two aces, 14 digs; Isabella Alves six kills, two aces, four blocks, two digs; Lily Hinton three digs; Emily Fontaine five kills, three digs; Daigelis Figueroa three kills, 48 digs(!); Leah Sklenka two kills, eight digs; Alex Rivera 35 assists, two kills, two blocks, 9 digs.

Records: Bristol Eastern 6-3 overall; Bristol Central 5-2.