Bristol Central volleyball hits the court this afternoon as the Rams battle RHAM in exciting CCC Tournament bout

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Bristol Central's Grace Higgins leads BCHS volleyball against RHAM this evening. | Mike Letendre

Posted By: Michael Letendre November 3, 2023

By Michael Letendre

The CCC Volleyball Tournament moves into the semifinal round on Friday afternoon and three of the top four seeds are still in the mix.

And that lone team that isn’t in the top-four is the squad from Bristol Central.

And the Rams are home as the host tournament, looking to score a major upset — or two — along the way over the next couple of days.

The matchups are set after Wednesday night’s action and the Rams will be in a featured position at 4 p.m. on Friday.

To earn a shot at the semifinals, Central was able to top No. 14 Newington by scores 26-24, 25-10 and 25-23.

The first two games were close, but the Rams (15-7 overall) were able to win big in the second set — cashing in on a slick sweep. 

Central’s Lily Kirk had another huge showing, swinging down 20 kills over a suffocating stint on the court.

She also dropped in three aces, bumping up five digs and added 17 serve receives.

Teammate Grace Higgins smashed down 16 kills, added an ace, nabbed 10 digs and posted 16 service receives.

Fellow captain Alex Rivera dished out 40 of the team’s 45 assists, two kills and 15 digs.

And Daigelis Figueroa had two aces, a team-high 17 digs, five assists, and collected 14 serve receive points.

That foursome recently earned CCC South All-Conference honors as the grouping have been playing some excellent ball this season under head coach Lance Pepper.

Also for the Rams, Ella Pratt (four kills), Emily Fontaine (two kills), four digs) and Isabella Alves (two kills, seven digs) all played well while Lily Hinton also saw court time for the victors.

Rematch against RHAM

Central has a big match on tap in the form of RHAM (18-3).

Earlier in the season, the Rams and Raptors duked it out on Oct. 5 — with Central falling to one of the state’s best squads in Hebron.

Kirk was not available for that match due to injury. 

Higgins led the outfit that afternoon with 12 kills.

Alves toasted RHAM for seven aces, Figueroa posted 24 digs and Rivera set-up her squad with 22 assists.

Back to the tournament

Friday afternoon should be a good one when Central and RHAM battle it out for a berth in the CCC Tournament Finals. 

In the nightcap, No. 1 Southington (19-1) squares off against No. 4 Farmington (18-3).

Match time is set for 6 p.m. 

Let’s set up the tournament for Friday:

2023 Central Connecticut Conference Girls Volleyball Tournament

*First Round – Monday, Oct. 30 (played at the site of the higher seed)

#16 Enfield at #1 Southington – The Knights won 25-9, 25-23 and 25-10#15 Wethersfield at #2 RHAM – Raptors swept 25-6, 25-5 and 25-10#14 Newington at #3 Windsor – The Nor’easters won via 3-1 upset
#13 Berlin at #4 Farmington – Farmington won 25-21, 28-30, 25-21 & 25-17
#12 Avon at #5 Glastonbury – Glastonbury was an easy 25-5, 25-11, 25-10 winner
#11 Tolland at #6 Bristol Central – The Rams swept 25-14, 25-10 and 25-13
#10 South Windsor at #7 Lewis Mills – The Bobcats won 25-17, 25-13, 19-25 & 25-7
#9 Bristol Eastern at #8 Simsbury – The Lancers fell 25-13, 25-19 & 25-12

*Second Round – Wednesday, Nov. 1 (played at the site of the higher seed)

#8 Simsbury 1, #1 Southington 3 (25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20)
#5 Glastonbury 1, #4 Farmington 3 (25-22, 26-28, 25-11, 25-21)
#14 Newington 0,  #6 Bristol Central 3 (26-24, 25-10, 25-23)
#10 South Windsor 0, #2 RHAM 3 (25-4, 25-5, 25-10) 

*Semifinals – Friday, Nov. 3 (from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol Central at 4 and 6 p.m.)

No. 2 RHAM versus No. 6 Bristol Central (4 p.m.); No. 1 Southington versus No. 4 Farmington (6 p.m.).

*Finals – Saturday, Nov. 4 (from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol Central at 5 p.m.).

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