Bristol Eastern girls volleyball looks to get back to the state final for the first time since 2012 when it faces Platt this evening in a Class L state semifinal match.
The No. 6 Lancers and No. 7 Panthers are scheduled to start their match at 5 p.m. at Sports and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. Not only were Eastern and Platt close in the ‘L’ rankings, they were also close on the court in their one matchup of the season.
On Sept. 30, the teams met at Platt High School in Meriden. Eastern won the match 3-2 (set scores of 25-15, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-13). The Lancers remained unbeaten at the time while the Panthers suffered their first loss of the year.
A quartet of seniors had a big night for Eastern in that match. Angela Daley (15 kills, 25 serve receives, 11 digs, 4 aces), Megan Gettings (14 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces), Chyna Barrett (11 kills) and Bailey Wyrebek (32 digs, 30 serve receives, 2 aces) were all huge in the win. It wasn’t just the seniors who came up big. Junior Jessica Kenney passed out 38 assists, junior Hannah Langlais tallied nine digs and and junior Mikayla Martin added four aces in what was a team effort.
Eastern should hope for more of the same this evening if it wants to beat Platt and move on to the state final. Here’s a little more on the matchup:
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Bristol Eastern: first round bye; defeated No. 11 E.O. Smith 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-16); defeated No. 14 Avon 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-23)
Platt: first round bye; defeated No. 10 East Lyme 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-23); defeated No. 2 Fitch 3-2 (25-17, 25-11, 21-25, 21-15, 15-12)
PREVIOUS HISTORY
Bristol Eastern and Platt meet in the semifinals this evening, but they have played each other twice before in state championship matches. In 1986, Platt defeated Eastern 3-0 for the Class M title, according to results provided by the CIAC. In 1987, Eastern returned the favor with a 3-0 win of its own. Platt made the final six straight years from 1985-1990. Eastern went to the finals three straight years from 2005-2007.
Eastern has five straight championships on its ledger, the last in 2012. Platt has four state titles, with the last one coming in 1990.
The winner of Bristol Eastern/Platt faces the winner of No. 1 RHAM and No. 5 Farmington on Saturday in the Class L state final at 4 p.m. at Berlin High School.
