By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – Despite a massive winning streak that seems to defy logic, it’s never an easy bout when the Bristol Eastern volleyball team travels to Bristol Central for a city series clash from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium.

And after the Rams nabbed a 1-0 lead in the match, Central reminded the Lancers of that very fact.

But Eastern roared right back – snaring three straight sets – and defeated Central in the end by a 3-1 final in another epic CCC South confrontation.

The Lancers (9-2) have won 54 consecutive matches over the Rams while Central, last beating its rival on November 3, 1994, fell to 8-3 overall but had its moments throughout the showdown.

This time around, Central lobbed one too many free balls Eastern’s way and when the Lancers’ hitters made good swings, the visitors were able to smash the ball all over the court.

“Free balls are our specialty,” said Eastern coach Stefanie Reay. “The girls do a really good job with those in taking advantage and we try not to give the other team as many.”

Eastern’s Hannah Webber (game-high 31 kills, two blocks, four aces) certainly was able to crush her share of those free balls as slick serves by Abby Jones (45 assists, 17 digs) gave the senior hitter plenty to swing at while Lauren Bender (nine digs) added 12 kills and Alex Shorette (10 digs) jammed in five to pace the winners.

Those points helped snuff out Central runs and put Eastern in the driver’s seat over the final three sets.

“That’s a huge issue,” said Central coach Lancer Pepper about the free balls. “When Hannah Webber probably hit fifty, we cannot give any free balls. We have to make them come out of system at least [and] run Hannah in a different option instead of just in the front row.” 

“That allows us to be able to set up our defense and then hopefully be aggressive offensively.”

Lilli Lowe (three kills), Alyssa Adorno (11 digs), Sarah Lacouture (three digs), Emily Valentine, and Alyssa Valentine all contributed to the winning endeavor.

Central’s Brooke Valentino (eight kills, 26 digs) and Madison Lodovico (four kills) loomed big on the front line while setter Alex Rivera (three aces, 19 digs) rambled up 19 assists – sprinting all over the court to set up her teammates.

Grace Higgins (three aces) and Sarah Romano (two aces) provided support for the Rams as did Olivia Clingan (three kills), Samantha Sklenka (four digs), and Abby Pirog (four kills).

Eastern led 3-1 in game one but a 6-0 jaunt by the Rams put the team in the driver’s seat.

An ace by Higgins propelled Central to a 16-9 lead but Eastern responded with a 11-4 burst – tying the event at 20-20.

And then three straight Central points – including big swings from Valentino and Pirog – saw the Rams pick up the lead for good and an eventual 25-22 set one win as the home squad, and the Central faithful, were loud and energized.

“We came out guns blazing,” Pepper said. “We kept the ball in play and we were aggressive. When we’re aggressive, we’re a tough team to beat. Then we got complacent and started the second set with three or four hitting errors.”

Eastern regrouped in set two quickly and off a 5-1 run, started by a loud slam from Webber, the Lancers nearly led wire-to-wire.

Shorette flipped in an ace mid-game and when Eastern led 14-5, it was Central’s turn to play catch-up.

Eastern miscues helped the Rams to nearly draw even and when a Rivera serve never made it back over the net, Central trailed just 24-23 and was on the cusp of tying up the affair.

One final net violation did-in the Rams as the Lancers rolled up a 25-23 victory to tie the match up at 1-1.

“The girls know there are a lot of nerves when we play Central, on both sides, a lot of excitement, but a lot of nerves and they played a very calm, level-headed game,” said Reay of Eastern. “So, they were able to just bounce back and forth. And with every down, we would push to come back up.”

Eastern etched up a 7-4 lead in set three when Jones pumped up perfect assists to Bender and Shorette for kills as the Kingstreeters led early once again.

“[Jones] did a fantastic job of moving the ball around,” said Reay. “They were just smart, calm, and level-headed.”

Central regrouped and off the power of a 9-2 run, including serves from Clingan that weren’t returned, as the Rams scooped up a 19-17 lead and had all the momentum.

Eastern returned the favor with a 5-0 dash – including a loud stuff by Shorette and a Bender kill – as the Lancers’ 22-19 push held up in the end.

And when Webber tipped the ball over for Eastern’s final point of the third set, the visitors snatched a 25-22 victory and a 2-1 match edge.

“I thought our aggression offensively, at times, wasn’t where it needed to be against a team like Bristol Eastern,” said Pepper.

In the fourth and final game, it was all Eastern on the scoreboard.

Adorno dropped in an ace and Bender had swings that weren’t retuned to open play as Eastern nabbed a sizable 11-3 edge.

“The girls on the court and on the bench were one entire group,” said Reay. “The girls that were sitting out were telling the girls on the court what to look for, what open spots there were. Everyone was one cohesive unit.”

Central never yielded and chopped the deficit to 12-9 on a Lodovico blast that was not returned.

That was as close as the Rams would get the rest of the way.

Eastern quickly went ahead by eight (18-10), Webber made a few loud kills to end the event and when one final Webber swing found paydirt, the Lancers had triumph No. 9 in hand via a 25-16 set victory – winning the match 3-1.

Credit belongs to Central as the locals refused to make it an easy encounter – the staple of Pepper’s competitive program.

“No matter the score, the kids never give up,” said Pepper. “[We] saw a lot of good things today but [there’s] a ton we’ve got to work on and continue to improve on every day in practice.”

City Series Volleyball 

BRISTOL EASTERN 3, BRISTOL CENTRAL 1 

from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol 

Set Scores: 22-25, 25-23, 22-22, and 25-16 

Lead Changes: Five 

Ties: Eight 

Highlights – Bristol Eastern: Hannah Webber 31 kills, 19 digs, 4 aces, 2 blocks; Alex Shorette 5 kills, 10 digs; Abby Jones 45 assists, 17 digs; Lauren Bender 12 kills, 9 digs; Lilli Lowe 3 kills; Alyssa Adorno 2 assists, 11 digs; Sarah Lacouture 2 assists, 3 digs. Bristol Central: Brooke Valentino 8 kills, 26 digs, Madison Lodovico 4 kills, Alex Rivera 3 aces, 19 digs, 19 assists, Grace Higgins 3 aces, Sarah Romano 2 aces, Olivia Clingan 3 kills, Samantha Sklenka 4 digs, and Abby Pirog 4 kills.

Records: Bristol Eastern 9-2 overall; Bristol Central 8-3