By Michael Letendre
Will the Bristol Central volleyball team strike lightning twice, punching its ticket to the Class L finals with a victory over surprising No. 12 St. Joseph on Wednesday night in Naugatuck?
Here’s what to expect on the court that evening:
Semifinal Round – Class L Tilt: Central wants to be finals bound one more time
The Teams: No. 12 St. Joseph vs. No. 9 Bristol Central
Match Time: 7 p.m.
The Place: Naugatuck High School
Records: St. Joseph comes into the semifinal showdown at 16-7 while Central (19-8) goes for its twentieth victory.
On the Line: A Class L semifinal victory means instant qualification to the state championship round for either the Cadets or the Rams.
Road to the semis: The Cadets (16-7) are an excellent program from the Fairfield area, spinning North Haven (3-0), Rockville (3-0) and held on to dear life against Woodstock Academy (3-2) in a huge five-set war in the quarters; The Rams downed North Haven (3-0), Guilford (3-0) and dropped top-ranked East Lyme (3-1) as the squad is looking for a repeat state finals appearance.
Tournament Fact – St. Joseph: How many No. 12 seeds have won a state championship in state history? The Cadets have quietly snuck through the ranks of the Class L bracket but it won’t be easy against the ninth ranked Rams.
Tournament Fact – Bristol Central: The squad is looking for a back-to-back state finals appearance. Central has not won a state title in program history but the door is certainly open to do so this weekend.
Three Facts about…St. Joseph
One – The Cadets have three players that are tough from the left side and the middle of the front line with Erin Lovett (282 kills), Kelli Ennis (149) and Grace Koonitsky leading the charge. The trio can swing the ball over all the court and have been quietly making their way through postseason play. This team won’t be an easy out with setter Maggie Wetmore (658 assists) setting up the offense.
Two – St. Joseph has caught fire just at the right time. The program started the year at 5-4 but has won 11 of its past 14 matches. Looking a bit closer, the Cadets have earned eight wins out of its past nine tries with just a loss against Westhill (3-1) on their docket.
Three – Beating No. 4 Woodstock Academy opened up a lot of eyes around the state. And with several big programs off the board – and Joel Barlow and RHAM duking it out in the Class M bracket (how did Barlow move down after winning the Class L title last season against Central?), there’s a path to the state title game if everything falls into place for the Cadets. St. Joseph plays in the FCIAC and the league certainly has some talented volleyball programs that gave the No. 12 rated team plenty of experience over tough matches.
Closing Thought: St. Joseph is, frankly, playing with house money. Nobody expected the Cadets to break through a loaded Class L field. But if the program can show the same ability it did against Woodstock in the quarterfinals (13-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20 and 15-6), Central could have its hands full.
Three Facts about…Bristol Central
One – The fact of the matter is that Grace Higgins (327 kills) and Lily Kirk, a junior and sophomore, respectively, are playing well beyond their years. Higgins swung down an amazing 27 kills in Central’s demolition of No. 1 East Lyme last Friday night while Kirk (270 kills, team-leading 4.2 kills-per-set) is an extreme athlete who can run, jump and dive onto the court with plenty of zest. And they have oodles of experience in clutch situations. Is anyone going to deny those two front line athletes on Wednesday night?
Two – Setter Alex Rivera is one of the top assist-makers in the state, period (she was just recently named to the Senior All-Star game). She’s a right time, right place setter who seems to know where all the big swingers want the ball. She’s etched up 785 assists on the year and should surpass 800 by the completion of the night, win or lose. Rivera does so many things well on the court for Central and she could be the MVP of the Class L Tournament by the time things are said and done.
Three – Who will be the third leading attacker on offense for the Rams? It’s a legitimate question. We’ve seen the growth of Emily Fontaine (86 kills) and Isabella Alves (90 kills) throughout the season while Ella Pratt (team-leading 35 blocks) is a handful on defense. If this trio of players, along with star libero Daigelis Figueroa (565 digs), steps up on both sides of the court, Central will be in position to win this match.
Closing Thought: If Central rolls into the finals, and Eastern does the same on the other side of the bracket, it could cause a big problem for BEHS principal Mike Higgins. If it’s the Rams taking on the Kingstreeters, who will Mr. Higgins be cheering for? Let’s get someone to truly find out where his allegiance really lies…
Semifinal Round – Wednesday (at Naugatuck High School)
*No. 12 St. Joseph (16-7) at No. 9 Bristol Central (19-8), 4:30 p.m.
*No. 3 Farmington (20-4) at No. 10 Bristol Eastern (15-8), 7 p.m.
Class L Finals – Saturday from East Haven High School, 3 p.m.
*Bristol Central/St. Joseph winner vs Bristol Eastern/Farmington winner.
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