By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – When the Bristol Central volleyball team lost sophomore sensation Lily Kirk in the squad’s crosstown showdown against Bristol Eastern on Thursday night, it was next man up for the program.
And the Rams, getting contributions from everyone on the court, fought tooth and nail before finally falling, three games to two.
The five-set war saw scores of 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-18 and 15-12.
Kirk, who was having a strong match with 13 kills and 14 digs, crashed to the floor to open the fourth period and was helped to the sidelines.
The Rams were trailing 17-3 at one point in the fourth set before a blazing 12-4 burst got Central within six (21-15).
“We had a hiccup tonight,” said Central coach Lance Pepper of the loss to Eastern. “These kids were extremely resilient. I think the more they play together, I put some kids in some positions that they never played out there before, the more they held their own.”
The Rams gave the Lancers all they could handle, and more, and with 13 lead changes and 18 ties, the match needed to go the distance to finally determine a winner.
When Eastern needed kills early, often and late, it was senior Adrianna Reay (34 kills) nabbing down shot after saw including the final three – all from the left side – to close out the encounter.
“Eastern is a strong team,” said Pepper. “You’ve got Adrianna on the outside, she puts the ball down and that’s a testament to them and how hard she works.”
Down a captain, fellow captains Grace Higgins 913 kills, 27 digs) and Alex Rivera (35 assists, two blocks) led the charge for the Rams, nearly pulling out the match.
It was truly a special night for Higgins and if a collegiate scout or two was in the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium that night, she might be on someone’s radar after that fight.
Higgins just piled up the kills, dropping in several clutch swings in the fourth set to keep the home team close.
She simply put the offense on her shoulders and turned out a primetime performance without the athlete Kirk in the lineup.
“I want to say she kept 99-percent [of the ball] in play,” said Pepper of Higgins. “She showed the junior that she is.”
Helping direct the traffic was Rivera once again, getting Higgins plenty of balls to swing at from the left side.
Rivera put the ball in just about all the right positions that night, showing all the ability in the world for the setter position.
“I keep bringing this up. Her sophomore year to where she is now, she’s a floor general,” said Pepper of Rivera. “She takes control of the court and that’s the senior leadership you need from that position.”
Contributions were made by the entire roster which included efforts by Isabella Alves (six kills, two aces, four blocks), Lily Hinton (three digs), Emily Fontaine (five kills, three digs), Daigelis Figueroa (48 digs) and Leah Sklenka (two kills, eight digs) all made tremendous contributions over game play.
They truly left it all on the floor and the rematch between the schools, commencing on Monday, October 23 from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium on the campus of BEHS is going to be of epic portions – again proving that BC/BE volleyball games are must-see events.
“I’m so proud of these kids and what they proved,” said Pepper. “And they truly played for Bristol Central.”
Already bouncing back
Still without the services of Kirk, Central was able to sweep Middletown (3-0) on the road on Friday.
Higgins nabbed 18 kills, Rivera chipped in with six while Lindsey Brothwell added three apiece.
Fontaine had a team-high four aces while Lily Hinton nabbed two.
Alves rejected three shots, Figueroa added 19 digs and Rivera dished out 23 assists over the sweep.
What does the upcoming week look like?
The Rams have three challenges this coming week.
And the final match of the week is going to be an epic showdown.
Maloney is in town on Monday (6:30 p.m.), the Rams travel to Farmington the following day (Tuesday, 5 p.m.) and then head off to Hebron on Thursday – squaring off against powerful RHAM (6 p.m.).
Central then returns home for four straight matches.
