By Michael Letendre

The Bristol Eastern volleyball program emptied the tank this past fall and left it all on the court over a spirited – and exciting – postseason run.

And while it would be easy to point to the fact that the Lancers fell short in reaching the Class L championship finals, the team accomplished so much over the entire 2021 campaign.

Seniors Hannah Webber (545 kills, 82 aces, 30 blocks, 130 digs) – get that All-State Award ready – Abby Jones (59 aces, 143 digs, 779 assists) and Alex Shorette (81 kills, 82 aces, 163 digs) led an extremely talented group of athletes this year.

Lauren Bender (282 kills, 54 aces, 182 digs) was a strong swinger for the Lancers in just her junior campaign while Alyssa Valentine (54 assists), Sarah Lacouture (118 digs), Lilli Lowe (56 kills, 14 blocks), and Alyssa Adorno (79 aces, 133 digs) all provided vital support for the Lancers.

Sophomores Adrianna Reay (16 blocks) and Jayna Hatcher saw some floor time this season and serving specialist Emily Valentine (21 aces) is a future star in the CCC South.

You can go on and on about the squad’s accomplishments this year as success did not elude the Kingstreeters’ program.

The Lancers went 21-6 overall and anytime a volleyball teams wins twenty matches in a season in this state, that’s a tremendous accomplishment.

Eastern ran through all the competition in the 2021 Central Connecticut Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship – winning the title in a 3-1 stomping of Simsbury.

That in itself is an amazing feat as the CCC is truly Connecticut’s top scholastic league for volleyball from top to bottom.

Don’t forget, each and every time you go to the CCC website now, a bright, bold picture of the Bristol Eastern volleyball team – the tournament champs of the league – is prominently featured for all to see.

The Lancers were also the CCC South Champs, an honor that always seems to come Eastern’s way, while the program has beaten the talented squad over at Bristol Central fifty-five straight times.

That’s an impressive ledger all on its own.

Eastern was only shutout twice this season, dropped contests to South Windsor (3-1), Glastonbury (3-2), and at RHAM (3-0) before losing hard-fought five set bouts to Conard (October 20) and Southington (October 22) before going on a nine-match winning streak. 

The Lancers went 4-0 in CCC Tourney play and started the state tournament with three straight victories – not losing a set in Class L play until the rematch against Simsbury.

In the Class L bracket, Eastern made a run all the way to the semifinal round.

No. 10 Eastern sent pesky No. 23 Torrington packing in first round play while No. 26 Windsor fell 3-0 in the following contest.

In the quarterfinals, the Lancers were easy 25-20, 25-10, and 25-15 winners over No. 18 St. Joseph and in the semifinals, Eastern finally dropped a match.

On November 17, the Lancers fell to Simsbury 3-0 as the final contest produced 17 kills and two aces for Webber, 18 assists by Jones while Shorette added three aces and three assists.

Again, a 21-6 ledger is nothing to sneeze at.

What about more postseason awards?

Webber, Bender and Jones were all named CCC South All Conference as three no-brainer picks.

And what’s the most important part about the season?

The girls played for each other, establishing lifelong friendships and bonds that will go far beyond the volleyball court.

This team was truly a family and the with the chemistry they developed, under the guidance of Stefanie Reay, it provided a blue print for success – on and off the court.

And one day in the near future, the athletes will bring their families into the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, be able to point to more than a couple banners on the walls and truly relive some remarkable times as members of the Bristol Eastern volleyball program.

Wins and losses don’t always tell the entire story and congratulations is certainly in order for one heck of a scholastic campaign by the BEHS volleyball team.