By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – With the Bristol Eastern volleyball team down two sets to one against rival Bristol Central on Thursday, October 29, the Lancers had to someway, somehow, tally two straight wins against the Rams to pull out the victory.

And like so many times before against Central, the girls at Bristol Eastern found the will to win in the end.

The Lancers nearly led wire-to-wire in the fourth set before running out to an early lead in game five – trailing briefly midway through the fray – before pulling out a huge five point win, seizing a 3-2 CCC, Region B triumph over Central from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol.

Game scores were 25-22, 27-29, 23-25, 25-18, and 15-10 as the partisan Central crowd almost saw their home-standing Rams finally gain a victory over the Lancers – now a perfect 10-0.

And the Eastern assault needed to be nearly flawless in the end because Central (8-2) was rolling into the fourth set with all the momentum, but Eastern refocused and dominated play in set four and the beginning of game five.

“There were a lot of nerves,” said Eastern coach Stefanie Reay. “They just needed to bring it together [and] they needed to act as one unit. When they start making mistakes individually, they tend to get in their heads a little bit, so by pulling them out and putting them together, they were able to focus a little bit better.”

Even when Central seized a 10-8 lead in the fifth set, Ryley Plourde (18 kills, 6 digs, 2 aces) made huge kills while the clever serving of Sage Scarritt (11 kills, 5 digs, 3 aces) proved to be the difference in the end as Eastern scored the final seven points of the match to win it.

“I think it was a typical Bristol Eastern [versus] Central game,” said Rams coach Lance Pepper. “I mean, both teams left it all on the floor and you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Hannah Webber (9 kills, 5 blocks, 4 digs) started that final stanza with some tremendous offensive plays – putting pressure on the Rams almost immediately.

And those other players for Eastern – seniors Zoe Lowe and Leah Chipman – were pretty good that night as well.

Lowe collected 19 kills, 19 digs, five assists and a couple of aces while Chipman directed traffic with precision once again, tallying  45 assists, 11 digs, and four aces.

She also nabbed three kills and had two blocks from the setter position.

Central had its best chance in beating Eastern since 1994, but fell just a few points short in the end.

Emily Ericson was in top form, dropping in 15 kills and 10 digs while adding three aces for the Rams.

Gwen Torreso raced around the court over all five sets, showing plenty of hustle, as the setter produced 25 assists and 17 digs. 

Kayla St. Onge was strong on the serving front, Jadyn Bauer and Madison Lodovico made critical kills, and Brooke Soucy was simply sensational – posting 37 digs from the backline against all the heavy hitters the Lancers employ.

“I have absolutely no complaints with our kids,” said Pepper. “They left it all on the floor and for a relatively young team, they definitely held their own.”

It was a back-and-forth first set before a 5-0 burst from Central – highlighted by a long ace by Ericson – made it a 12-7 score in the Rams’ favor.

And each and every time Eastern closed the deficit to one over the period, Central built up its edge again.

The Rams’ led 22-20 late but the Lancers finished the set with five straight points, including two kills by Plourde, and off three consecutive miscues from Central, Eastern ramped up its 25-22 come-from-behind victory in game one.

Set two was all Eastern early but Lodovico flashed in a kill and when the Lancers made back-to-back gaffs, Central’s deficit was chopped to one, 9-8.

But an 8-0 jaunt from the Lancers – fueled by a vicious Lowe slam – gave Eastern a 17-8 edge before Central went on the attack once again.

Lodovico dropped in kills at the net, Ericson had a block and tip-over and when another big Ericson slam found the hardwood, the match was all tied up at 20-20.

However, Eastern put Central on the brink as Chipman found Plourde for a slam on the outside and when Jadyn Bauer’s kill hit the guide wire on top of the net, the Rams trailed 24-22.

Central came back with three straight points, ended as Torreso zipped a sweet feed that helped produce a Bauer kill, and the home team was sitting on set-point – leading 25-24.

When Eastern tied it up at 25-25, ‘overtime’ was needed and the set victor had to win by two points.

Each squad led by one late but a bad serve and a net violation by the Lancers propelled Central to a 29-27 win – tying the event up at 1-1.

Eastern led early in set three before Central broke a 3-3 stalemate and never looked back.

The Rams eventually roped up a 16-8 lead as Bauer sent a hit over that went for a point, Destinee Craft dropped in a kill from the middle of the floor, and a Central blocked shot produced that eight point edge.

Chipman then flipped in a serve that wasn’t returned, Scarritt had a block, and when Webber jammed down a ball at the net – from a quickly returned Lancers’ serve – Central’s edge was chopped to 19-17.

Eventually, the Rams were sitting on set-point at 24-19 and the Lancers had to play perfectly to tie the event up.

That stalemate almost came to pass as Lauren Bender dropped in a kill, a Scarritt serve was not returned, an Ericson scoring attempt ended up in the net and when Chipman slipped in a short kill, Central’s lead was reduced to 24-23.

But Ericson, who was lethal all evening from outside, sent a loud kill down to end the set as Central scooped up a 25-23 set three win.

“There’s a lot of subs being thrown in and out and kids held their own,” said Pepper. “That’s all you can ask for in a hard fought contest like you saw tonight.”

Leading 2-1, the Rams needed just one additional set victory to topple the Lancers.

However, Eastern nabbed a 7-1 cushion to start set four and the Lancers never looked back.

And when Plourde sent down an ace midway through the period, the Lancers’ produced the match’s only double-figure lead at 15-5.

“I think at times throughout the course of this match, we were kind of up and down with our energy,” said Pepper. “When we have fun and play with intensity and energy, we have a lot of success. I think our serve-receive struggled at times and didn’t allow us to run our offense.”

Lowe and Webber canned kills to give Eastern an 18-9 edge but the Rams refused to give in.

This time, a 6-0 Central burst, including a very long ace from Bauer, made it an 18-15 game but the three point deficit was as close as the Rams could get to the lead.

Plourde and Lowe then made big hits and kills to end the stanza and with Eastern winning the fourth set 25-18, it was time for a fifth and deciding game between the two outstanding programs.

“These girls definitely wanted it,” said Reay. “They showed it and they played like it and they played like a team. They definitely earned that.”

Eastern led 7-1 in the fifth frame as Chipman started the run with an unreturned serve and Lowe ended the run with an ace that hit the extreme left corner of the court.

But over the next ten points scored in the set, the only Eastern tally was a Scarritt kill in front of the Central bench as a 9-1 Central push – including Torreso and Bauer’s aces – propelled the home squad to a 10-8 lead.

To end the match, Plourde tallied a kill, Emma Rodjenski made a huge block, Scarritt zipped up an ace while Plourde eventually sent three straight balls over the net that were never returned as the 15-10 set win propelled Eastern to the 3-2 match victory.

“[Eastern] did a very good job establishing its middles later in the game,” said Pepper. “That’s what kind of killed us towards the end of the sets.”

Bristol City Series Volleyball

BRISTOL EASTERN 3, BRISTOL CENTRAL 2

From the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at Bristol Central high school

Game Scores: 25-22, 27-29, 23-25, 25-18, and 15-10

Lead Changes: 11

Ties: 18

Stats – Bristol Eastern: Zoe Lowe, 19 kills, 19 digs, 2 aces, 5 assists; Emma Rodjenski, 5 digs; Ryley Plourde, 18 kills, 6 digs, 2 aces; Sage Scarritt, 11 kills, 5 digs, 3 aces; Hannah Webber, 9 kills, 5 blocks, 4 digs; Lucy Winiarski, 9 digs; Alex Shorette, 2 digs; Alyssa Adorno, 5 digs; Lauren Bender, 2 digs; Leah Chipman, 45 assists, 11 digs, 4 aces, 3 kills, 2 blocks; Bristol Central: Emily Ericson, 15 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces; Gwen Torreso, 25 assists, 17 digs; Brooke Soucy, 37 digs.

Records: Bristol Eastern 10-0; Bristol Central 8-2