By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The annual Central Connecticut Conference Volleyball Tournament is always an important chance for the squad from Bristol Eastern to sneak a little state tournament preparation in.

And in the 2021 fray, the seventh ranked Lancers wasted little time in their first-round bout against No. 10 Plainville over a 3-0 win – sweeping the Blue Devils via set scores of 25-4, 25-16, and 25-11.

It was a bit of a demolition for Eastern over the first game, etching up a 19-0 cushion to seize the early momentum of the match.

“We’re really focused,” said Eastern’s Alex Shorette. “We have a main goal to just win it all. Like this one game, it’s our step ahead. We’re just going to keep playing the next game, the next game, and the next game until we win. That’s our goal.”

Part one of that lofty goal was accomplished on Monday as the entire Eastern team contributed to the first-round win.

Eastern’s Hannah Webber looked like she was dropping thunder down from Mount Olympus as she blasted the Blue Devils for 24 kills over a tremendous front-line effort.

She was lethal from her position next to the Lancers’ bench and when Webber went to serve the ball, she frustrated Plainville considerably – collecting seven aces to keep the visitors’ offense at bay.

Eastern’s Lauren Bender did a little of everything with five kills, six digs and two assists while Shorette bumped up four digs, dropped in four aces, and added two assists.

Sarah Lacouture collected four digs while setter Abby Jones impressed again, sizing up 22 assists and gave her mates plenty of lobs to drill over the net.

Gabriela Caucci (two digs), Jayna Hatcher (1 kill, 1 assist), and Adrianna Reay all gave something to the Bristol squad over the winning effort.

But it was ‘Team Alyssa’ (Adorno and Valentine) who stole the show in the end.

Adorno’s serves were nearly impossible to return – as her team-leading nine aces frustrated Plainville’s serve-receive – while Valentine chipped in at setter with four quality assists.

“They both did a fantastic job,” said Eastern coach Stefanie Reay of her players named Alyssa.

Coach Alle Caponigro’s troops over at Plainville played much better over the second and third sets but never seized any sizable momentum in the tilt, leading to the sweep.

To open the first frame, Adorno dropped in ace-after-ace and before she left the backline, Eastern had run off 19 straight points.

“My servers were more consistent than they have been have which helps our side as well,” said Reay. 

Webber also slipped in an ace and when a loud swing by Bender found pay dirt to end the set, Eastern won 25-4.

The second set was much more competitive as six lead changes and eight ties highlighted a very busy affair.

The score was 12-12 midway through the second game but Eastern put together an 8-1 run with Webber kicking in serves that were not returnable as the Lancers grabbed a 20-13 edge.

“We really did a nice job of keeping the ball in play and being smart of swinging when we could swing,” said Reay, “and then swinging smart when we needed to as well.”

The Blue Devils chopped the deficit to five before Eastern rebounded and ended the period with a sweet Shorette serve that landed completely untouched in the back row for an ace as the Lancers won 25-16 – going up 2-0 in the match.

To begin the third and final set, the Lancers charged ahead 6-1 and slowly began to pull away.

And when Shorette placed a picture-perfect ball for Webber to smash, Plainville was trailing 17-8.

The deficit reached double-figures on a slick Jones/Webber connection (20-10) as the Kingstreeters were about to close the tournament event out.

One last Webber swing ended the evening as Eastern took the set by a 25-11 final, earning a sweep in the match.

“It’s definitely a warmup for the state championship because the state championship is ultimately the biggest thing,” said Shorette of the CCC Tournament. “I think these games, it shows the level of competition that we’re going to see. Depending on who wins [tonight], we’re going to see a good team no matter what. We’re just focusing on that and then the next team, we’re going to see another good [program].”

“And the competition is something that’s definitely going to prepare us for the states.”

NOTES…In quarterfinal action, the Lancers drew No. 2 Conard – a 3-0 victor over Platt on Monday evening. Set scores were 25-13, 25-20, and 25-23. Conard is 17-1 this season but back on October 20, Eastern took the team to the brink in a CCC Interdivisional encounter, eventually falling 3-2.

Central Connecticut Conference Volleyball Tournament – Round one

No. 7 BRISTOL EASTERN 3, No. 10 PLAINVILLE 0

from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol

Set Scores: 25-4, 25-16, and 25-11

Lead changes: Seven

Ties: Nine

Highlights: Bristol Eastern – Hannah Webber 24 kills, 7 aces; Lauren Bender 5 kills, 6 digs, 2 assists; Alex Shorette 4 digs, 4 aces, 2 assists; Alyssa Adorno 9 aces, 1 dig; Sarah Lacouture 4 digs; Abby Jones 22 assists; Alyssa Valentine 4 assists; Gabriela Caucci 2 digs; Jayna Hatcher 1 kill, 1 assist.

Records: Bristol Eastern 15-5 overall; Plainville 15-6