By Michael Letendre

NAUGATUCK – The Bristol Central volleyball squad emptied the tank against surging St. Joseph in an exciting Class L semifinal bout from Naugatuck High School on Wednesday evening.

The ninth ranked Rams needed 33 points to put the 12th rated Cadets away in set one and then Central held a three-point edge midway through the second game.

But the Cadets rolled through the next set and-a-half to nab a 2-1 advantage and came-from-behind in the final frame to take the match 3-1 – punching their finals ticket on Saturday.

Central (19-9 overall) was simply tremendous but the team might have overexerted itself over a fast and furious first set, winning 33-31 to take the initial edge in the fray.

“It think it took so much energy out of us,” said Central coach Lance Pepper of the first set. “After that, we were kind of slow in getting back into the swing of things.”

St. Joseph was able to steal the momentum just enough to snare the next three sets via scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-23, taking the match in the end.

Central’s Grace Higgins (13 kills, 18 digs) hurt her ankle midway through the first set but came back moments later to continue her stellar play.

Lily Kirk (game-high 24 kills, 16 digs) was everywhere that evening while Alex Rivera (52 assists, 14 digs) was her usual amazing leader on the court.

The Rams got 13 combined kills from Isabella Alves (seven kills, four blocks, six digs) and Ella Pratt (six kills, five blocks), solid on both sides of the ball.

Daigelis Figueroa (28 digs) and Emily Fontaine (two kills, seven digs) contributed to the effort while Central had to go deep in its bench as several not-your-usual performers, including Samantha Licki (two blocks), Lindsey Brothwell (four digs), and Lily Hinton, all gave something to keep Central on track.

“Our kids are resilient,” said Pepper. “We had some injuries throughout the course of tonight and we were next man up mentality. The kids went out and they held their own. That’s all you can ask.”

The match was still in doubt late as Central was just two points away in the fourth frame –nearly pushing the match to a fifth and deciding set.

Either squad could have come away victorious as 15 lead changes and 23 ties underscored that very fact in Naugatuck.

“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. St. Joe’s is a good team,” said Pepper. “They have a lot of options across the board. They’re very scrappy defensively. They’re well coached, they’re well disciplined.

Erin Lovett led the Cadets with 16 kills, two aces and five blocks as her play in the middle made a huge difference in the showdown.

The first set wasn’t for the faint at heart as the squads went tit-for-tat throughout the period.

A Kirk hit that wasn’t returned made it a 15-12 game – in Central’s favor – and later in the frame, Higgins drained a kill from the left side to propel the Rams to a 19-15 edge.

But an 8-1 burst by the Cadets – along with Higgins’ injury – saw the squad etch up a 23-20 push as the Rams were on the brink.

St. Joseph had it at 24-21 before an error, a loud swing by Kirk and two miscues by the Cadets gave Central a slim 25-24 edge.

But neither team could string anything together as the game, and the intensity, continued to increase with Higgins looking good after the injury scare.

Down 31-30, the Rams tallied three straight points as Higgins smashed down a ball, Pratt blocked a shot for a point and when a back-and-forth scrum saw Alves and company pop over a hot potato ball that was never returned, Central scooped up an amazing 33-31 victory in set one to go ahead in the fray 1-0.

In the second set, Central ran out to a 3-0 lead – highlighted by an ace from Rivera and a middle kill by Pratt.

Central increased that cushion to 9-5 off a Higgins kill and when she hit a ball that never came back over the net, the Rams were looking good at 12-9.

However, the Cadets rattled off seven straight points and made a mad dash to the end as a 16-4 run, generated by late kills from Grace Koonitsky, the program snared a 25-16 win to tie the showdown up at 1-1.

“We struggled big time in our serve-receive,” said Pepper. “We got stuck in some routes where we couldn’t put the ball down.”

St. Joseph led wire-to-wire in the third set but the Rams didn’t make it easy on them.

The Cadets ramped up a 6-0 push to open the tilt and Central was playing catch-up the remainder of the way.

Midway through things, Alves flipped down an ace and while an error by St. Joseph’s trimmed the deficit to 11-10 but the Rams never inched any closer.

Off a Kirk hit, Central was hanging around at 21-16 but four consecutive points later by the Cadets saw the program win it by nine (25-16), one set away from concluding play.

“That’s an older team,” said Pepper of St. Joseph. “They have a bunch of seniors on that team.”

The Rams nearly got back on track in the fourth game, putting together a late run to nearly it.

Central surged ahead 3-0 to start the fourth and held an 8-3 lead midway through things.

It took some time but St. Josephs nabbed a 19-17 push as Lovett was heating up in the middle.

The Rams made one final stand as the team notched six straight points, including a Fontaine ace, a Higgins kill and then a slick dump and point from Rivera as Central built a 23-19 lead – just two points away from forcing a fifth and deciding set.

“I thought Emily Fontaine went on a heck of a run. She rattled off five or six” serves said Pepper.

The Cadets closed the match out on a 6-0 game-ending run as Jill Guilfoyle blocked a shot for a point and when Keli Ennis swung home two balls, St. Joseph came away a 25-23 victor – taking the match three games to one as Central finished the campaign at an amazing 19-9 off another spirited playoff jaunt.

“We got stuck,” said Pepper of the closing minutes. “We got stuck where we couldn’t put the ball down. I think we got a little lackadaisical defensively.”

“We just kind of fell off.”

The contest was the final scholastic game for Central seniors Leah Sklenka, Kate Schilling, Brothwell, and Rivera. 

NOTE…Alex Rivera will be playing one last match from home next week, joining Eastern’s Adrianna Reay, at the annual Senior All Star Game on Monday, November 20. The showdown takes place at 6 p.m. at the Pepper Dome (Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium) on the campus of Bristol Central.  

Bristol Central Volleyball – Class L, Semifinal Round

No. 12 St. Joseph 3, No. 9 BRISTOL CENTRAL 1

from Naugatuck High School

Set Scores: 31-33, 25-16, 25-16 and 25-23.

Highlights: St. Joseph – Kelli Ennis 10 kills, three aces, 10 digs; Grace Koonitsky 13 kills; Erin Lovett 16 kills, two aces, five blocks; Jill Guilfoyle seven kills, two aces, eight blocks; Nacelis Galarza 17 digs; Maggie Wetmore 46 assists; Bristol Central – Lily Kirk 26 kills, 16 digs; Grace Higgins 13 kills, 18 digs; Alex Rivera 52 assists, 14 digs, two aces; Daigelis Figueroa 28 digs; Emily Fontaine two kills, seven digs; Isabella Alves seven kills, four blocks, six digs; Ella Pratt six kills, five blocks; Samantha Licki two blocks; Lindsey Brothwell four digs.

Records: St. Joseph 14-6 overall; Bristol Central 19-9.

Class L Volleyball 

Semifinal Round – Wednesday (from Naugatuck High School)

*No. 12 St. Joseph 3, No. 9 Bristol Central 1

*No. 3 Farmington 3, No. 10 Bristol Eastern 0

Class L Finals – Saturday (from East Haven High School)

*No. 12 St. Joseph vs. No. 3 Farmington (3 p.m.)