By Michael Letendre 

It’s already that time as the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern volleyball squads square off in their first of two-yearly confrontations tonight. 

The squads ended up splitting the season series in 2022 as the Rams broke their 56-match losing streak against the Lancers via a 3-0 sweep back on October 24. 

Central would like to make it a two-game winning streak over Eastern for the first time since the early 1990’s while the Lancers want to get back to the pay window over its crosstown rival. 

Both teams come into the showdown on winning streaks and, per usual, when the two programs clash, it’s always a must-see event. 

Who has the edge in tonight’s showdown? Let’s take a look: 

Bristol Eastern (5-3) at Bristol Central (5-1)   

Time: The match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. 

Location: Charles C. Mars Gymnasium (BCHS) 

Players to Watch: Bristol Eastern – Adrianna Reay (sr. outside hitter, 106 kills, 12 aces, 68 digs), Gabby Caucci (sr. outside, 68 kills, 10 aces, 55 digs), Andrea Martir-Perez (sr, defensive specialist, 13 aces, 73 digs), Katie Beaulieu (sr, 19 digs), Emma Cretella (jr, outside hitter, seven digs), Samara Paranzion (sr. middle hitter, six blocks, 14 digs), Naseem Hennouch (so, setter, 175 assists, 14 aces, 36 digs). 

Players to Watch: Bristol Central – Grace Higgins (jr. right side, 49 kills, 10 aces, 46 digs), Lily Kirk (so. middle hitter, 77 kills, 11 aces, 43 digs), Alex Rivera (sr. setter, 11 aces, six blocks, 53 digs, 144 assists), Leah Sklenka (sr, 10 kills, eight blocks, 18 digs), Isabella Alves (fr, 20 kills), Emily Fontaine (jr, 22 digs), Daigelis Figueroa (jr, 117 digs). 

Eastern’s season to date (5-3 overall) – Eastern, after dropping two straight decisions, is back on the winning path – seizing sweeps over both Maloney and South Windsor this week. 

Those two decisions came on the road as the Kingstreeters had previously dropped bouts at RHAM (3-0) and Berlin (3-1). 

In that 3-0 sweep of South Windsor, Adrianna Reay dropped in 15 kills and 11 digs while Gabby Caucci added eight kills and nine digs over a complete match effort. 

Eastern’s head coach is veteran mentor Stefanie Reay. 

Central’s season to date (5-1 overall) – Central has been playing extremely well under head coach Lance Pepper, getting to a sterling 5-1 by dropping just five total sets.  

The Rams spun Platt on September 26 by a 3-0 final and was the fourth sweep by Central this season. 

Lily Kirk dropped in 13 kills to lead all players while Grace Higgins added 10 against the Panthers.  

A 3-0 setback at Southington on September 22 was the only loss by the program to date as Central is once again taking on allcomers. 

The Bristol Streak – The Bristol Central volleyball team is on a one-game winning streak against Bristol Eastern, breaking a 56-match losing drought against its archrival late last season. 

Last Year – The Lancers defeated the Rams, three games to one, back on October 3 at the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium. In the rematch on October 24, Central was a huge 3-0 winner from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium. 

Last Season’s final match between the programs: 

BRISTOL CENTRAL 3, BRISTOL EASTERN 0  

from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol (October 24) 

Set Scores: 25-23, 25-20, and 25-18  

Lead changes: 9 

Ties: 17 

Highlights – Bristol Eastern: Emily Valentine two aces, 10 digs; Lauren Bender 14 kills, 10 digs; Adrianna Reay two kills, nine digs; Gabby Caucci two aces, 10 digs; Jayna Hatcher two kills, two digs, two digs, block, Alyssa Valentine 14 assists. Bristol Central: Brooke Valentino 19 kills, five aces; Brooke Valentino, 19 kills, five aces; Sam Sklenka, 19 digs; Lily Kirk, six kills, three digs; Maddie Lodovico, eight kills, four aces, 14 digs; Grace Higgins, six digs; Olivia Clingan, two kills, two blocks; Alex Rivera, 28 assists.  

What to expect on Thursday – Last season, Central was looking to break its hex against Eastern and did so in dominating fashion from the court at the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium. 

Central has a solid big three with captains Grace Higgins, Lily Kirk and Alex Rivera running the show. 

Those three athletes were a huge part of why the Rams ended up in the Class L finals and the trio hopes for that kind of success tonight against the Lancers. 

Kirk is a tremendous sophomore competitor with some pure athleticism and plenty of ability at finish at the net while Higgins is also a handful as well from the frontline. 

Rivera is the perfect floor general for this crew while senior Leah Sklenka does a little of everything for the program. 

Freshman Isabella Alves is producing very nicely in her first season of scholastic play while juniors Emily Fontaine and Daigelis Figueroa complement the squad very well. 

On the flip side, Adrianna Reay has been tremendous at the outside hitting position for Eastern, blasting down 106 kills while bumping up 68 digs on defense.

She earned AVCA Player of the Week honors for the week of September 11 which included her nearly 4.7 kills-per-game. 

Gabby Caucci (68 kills, 10 aces, 55 digs) has stepped up her game as well to help the squad win five matches to date. 

The Lancers have varying levels of experience with seniors Andrea Martir-Perez (73 digs), Katie Beaulieu (19 digs) and Samara Paranzion making big contributions. 

Junior Emma Cretella is an ever improving junior while setter Naseem Hennouch (175 assists) is doing an excellent job getting Eastern into its offensive sets. 

Central has the edge in experience and playing from home in its first showdown against Eastern is a big deal as well. 

First BC/BE in September is rare – This match is a not-so-typical September showdown between the squads, battling against each other for only the fourth time in the month since 1992. 

And the last time the programs faced off on September 28, the squads needed the full five sets. 

Back on September 28, 1992, Eastern defeated Central 3-2 behind set scores of 15-13, 15-10, 6-15, 9-15 and 15-8 over an epic five-set decision.  

Bottom Line – After finally winning against Eastern last year, Central has taken the mental aspect of playing against its rival out of the equation, completely. 

The Rams are playing an extremely good brand of ball and are a very confident group coming into the showdown in their own gym. 

Eastern has some tools up front but could get a bit overwhelmed by that veteran trio of Kirk/Higgins/Rivera. 

Reay could plaster the ball all over the court but if Central’s defense can bump up more than a couple of digs, the home team has a great chance in this match. 

However, you know the deal when it comes to Central/Eastern showdowns: throw the records out the window. 

It should be a good one tonight when the Rams and Lancers lock horns once again.