By Michael Letendre
Once the Bristol Central volleyball team got its blood pumping in its first round, Class L tournament game against New Milford on Tuesday evening, the Rams showed the same fire, flare and determination that powered the squad to the championship round last season.
Ninth ranked Bristol Central was able to sweep No. 24 New Milford in a first round extravaganza, winning the match 3-0 behind set scores of 25-17, 25-11 and 25-6 from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol.
The victory sends Central to second round play against No. 8 Guilford on Thursday.
Match time is set for 6 p.m. at Guilford High School and the bout should be very entertaining between two good programs.
The Grizzlies went 14-6 in regular season play this season while the Rams enter second round action with a battle tested ledger (17-8 overall).
The Green Wave (10-12) proved pesky on Tuesday, especially early when the visitors got the jump on the Rams over first period play, scoring a 6-2 edge as Central struggled with its serve receive.
But once the home team settled down and started making returns to the New Milford side of things, squaring up a 10-9 edge via an 8-3 run, Central never trailed in the showdown again.
“I thought in the first set, there were some jitters, some first tournament game jitters,” said Central coach Lance Pepper. “We got stuck on that one rotation where we gave up six [points] and after that, we kind of put things back together.”
After that 6-2 lead by New Milford, the squad was outscored 73-28 the rest of the way, showing Central’s dominance.
Four lead changes and five ties illustrated a tight first set but an 11-3 Central dash, highlighted by a slick kill from the middle by outstanding setter Alex Rivera (30 assists, two kills, seven digs) and an Ella Pratt (four kills) hit that wasn’t returned, Central picked up a 20-12 cushion.
New Milford eventually trimmed the deficit to 21-17 but a 4-0 set ending run, including a facial by sophomore sensation Lily Kirk (game-high 15 kills, nine digs) on an unsuspecting Green Wave defender, saw the home team wrap up a 25-17 win to go up in the match 1-0.
BC’s Alex Rivera, left photo, goes 20-for-20 at the service line against New Milford. Rivera, right photo center, is honored before the match for her 2000th-career assist. | Photos by Herve
“I thought New Milford was scrappy throughout the entire night,” said Pepper. “I thought their libero (Madeline Bell) played well.”
Over the second period, Rivera served the Green Wave into oblivion as serve receive issues started to bother the visitors as well and quickly, it was a 9-0 game early into things.
Nine was the magic number in terms of Central’s cushion through most of the second stanza and off a big Grace Higgins (nine kills, two aces, four digs) smash that wasn’t returned, the Rams went ahead 16-7.
Central ended the set on a 6-1 burst as Higgins dropped in a serve that wasn’t returned, Kirk had another loud kill and when one final Green Wave swing bounced into the net, Central grabbed a 25-11 win as the team went ahead 2-0 in the match.
And things got even tougher for New Milford in the third set when the program couldn’t tally a kill off a suffocating defensive effort by Central.
Ahead 6-2 in the fray, Daigelis Figueroa (nine digs, two aces) served up an ace and then had a couple balls that never made it back to the Central side of the court – leading to a neat 12-2 push.
“I thought our third set was our cleanest set,” said Pepper. “We were clicking which was good.”
The Green Wave only got as close as nine points the rest of the frame as the Rams simply dominated until the final point was scored.
Rivera got Emily Fontaine (three kills, two aces, two blocks, four digs), who really played well on Tuesday, into the mix as a short stack assist saw the junior smack the ball down on New Milford’s side of the court, spinning the locals to an imposing 20-4 edge.
Those scoring contributions by Pratt, Fontaine and freshmen Isabella Alves (three kills, team-leading three aces) were critical to Central’s success that evening – and for the Rams moving forward over postseason play.
“Once we play better competition, these kids have to perform,” said Pepper of his squad’s secondary scorers.
A short serve by Fontaine found pay dirt late in the stanza, Pratt smoked a ball for a kill in the middle and when one final serve by Rivera never made it back across the net, Central scored a huge 25-6 win, sweeping the match in the process.
Off to the second round
The second-round showdown in Guilford will be a challenge – for both programs – but as long as Central can execute on offense and let the defense do its usual damage, this squad has every chance of earning a berth in the Class L quarterfinals.
“I think we have to take it one point at a time,” said Pepper about the remainder of the Class L tournament. “I think if we start to look forward too much, we kind of get ahead of ourselves. I think once we’ve locked in on our serve receive, everything else kind of fills in behind but it’s going to come down to serving and just keeping everything in play and tonight, I thought we did a pretty good job of doing that.”
Honoring 2,000 (plus) career assists by Rivera
Before the showdown, Rivera was honored with a special game ball for her tremendous passing milestone.
Rivera has been a staple in the Rams’ lineup over the past three seasons and her assists tally is certainly an amazing accomplishment for the program.
She will continue to pile up the assists on Thursday evening against the Grizzles in second round play.
Bristol Central Volleyball — Class L State Tournament, First Round Tilt
No. 9 BRISTOL CENTRAL 3, No. 24 NEW MILFORD 0
from the Pepper Dome (Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium), Bristol
Set Scores: 25-17, 25-11 and 25-6
Lead changes: 4
Ties: 5
Highlights – Bristol Central: Alex Rivera 30 assists, two kills, seven digs, 20-for-20 serving; Grace Higgins nine kills, two aces, four digs, 14-for-15 serving; Daigelis Figueroa nine digs, two aces, 11-for-12 serving; Isabella Alves three kills, three aces, 6-for-7 serving; Lily Kirk 15 kills, nine digs, 11-for-11 serving; Emily Fontaine three kills, two aces, two blocks, four digs, 8-for-8 serving; Ella Pratt four kills.
Records: Bristol Central 17-8 overall; New Milford 10-12.
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