BRISTOL – In terms of wins and losses, the city series battles between the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern volleyball teams is one of the strangest scholastic rivalries in town.   

And the results almost defy logic.  

In terms of any other scholastic sport – you can choose football, basketball, wrestling, track & field, cross country, or something different entirely – stretches favor either the Rams or Lancers.  

However, volleyball doesn’t follow that pattern in the Mum City.  

The teams started competing against each other in 1974 and just a few short years later, the design of the series was formed.  

And the bottom line is Central has rarely defeated Eastern in volleyball.  

There were two short stretches where the Rams had some success but since Central beat Eastern in 1994, keeping the Lancers from qualifying for the state tournament, Eastern has defeated Central every single time since then.  

Every…single…time.  

It’s frankly unbelievable to see this kind of domination in a city that has two high schools and extremely balanced talent unless you’re talking about boys basketball centers like Bruce Kuczenski (UCONN), Ryan Howse (University of Hartford), Kelvin Anderson (Hawaii), Jeff Salovski (University of Massachusetts), and Donovan Clingan (he can take his pick of schools) – who all attended Bristol Central while Eastern’s centers over the years have not been of comparable level.  

But volleyball is a different animal and the results between the two Bristol schools is astounding.  

What is the current winning streak for Eastern against Central in volleyball?  

Try fifty-three straight matches.  

That’s 53.  

The streak includes regular season and tournament showdowns between the schools as well.  

That stretch of misfortune and bad luck isn’t lost on the current coach from Central.  

“I think the moment we overlook the fact that there’s a streak, and we can play the way I know play, is the moment we’re going to have success” over Eastern said Central coach Lancer Pepper in their last match-up back on October 29. “It’s tough to go into any match knowing that you haven’t beat them since I was two years old, honestly.”  

“I think as soon as we get the monkey off our back, then we can finally play how we play.”  

That showdown between the schools back on October 29 could have swung either way and it was a huge opportunity to break the streak.  

But Eastern pulled out all the stops in the end, wrangling up a huge 3-2 win from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at BCHS.  

As a result of that match, is the tide finally turning between the two schools on the court?  

Or will Eastern continue it’s over half-a-century dominance against Central for years to come?  

Eventually, every long winning streak has to come to an end.  

Or does it?  

Both public schools will enter 2021 with long winning streaks against each other in various sports.  

The Bristol Eastern girls basketball team has won every game against Central since dropping a tough 60-57 decision against the Rams back February 16, 2004 when the Lancers couldn’t buy a basket in the fourth quarter and allowed a big lead to evaporate.  

On the flip side, the Central boys cross country team has defeated Eastern every year since scooping up a 19-42 victory over the Lancers in 2004 and its been 17 straight wins since.  

The Bristol Eastern wrestling squad hasn’t lost to Central since 2010 but the Rams always seem one pin-fall victory away from flipping the script.  

And both the Central and Eastern football teams have enjoyed long stretches with the Brass Bell in their respective showcases.  

The current volleyball streak has now spanned generations in Bristol, involving both mothers and daughters as players – from both schools – and just last season, Central senior Emily Ericson was trying to break that streak her mother help establish at Eastern, former BE coach and Bristol Sports Hall of Famer Gail Ericson.  

But how does Coach Pepper handle something like that?  

Is the streak something that Pepper and his team openly talk about while preparing for a match against Bristol Eastern?  

“I think at times, [the streak] comes up, but I think they just go out and play,” said Pepper of his team. “You know, game one, there’s always some pregame jitters and stuff like that. You could tell even in warm-ups today. But once they get those jitters out and they just start playing and having fun how we know we can, we’ll have some success.”  

And I’m sure former coaches for the Bristol Central volleyball program like Gary Fleming – who does have a victory or two in his pocket against the Lancers – Coral Richardson, Jen Broderick, and Holly Willette have frustrating stories about competing on the court against the Lancers.  

Over the next week, as this miserable year is finally concluded, The Bristol Edition will take a look at this amazing, one-sided volleyball series between Central and Eastern.  

And if you think the current 53 match winning streak is incredible, wait until more of the story is revealed over the early stages of volleyball in the Mum City.