Bristol Central girls volleyball before the start of their semifinal match against Woodstock Academy. (Photo credit: Bristol Central girls volleyball X account)
The 10th-seeded Bristol Central girls volleyball had made an improbable run to the Class L state championship match at East Haven High School.
What may have seemed even more improbable was the Rams had a two sets to none lead over top-seeded Farmington on Saturday. The Rams were later two points away from victory and a first state championship in the fourth set. Then the River Hawks pulled off their own improbable run. Farmington rallied for a 3-2 win and the state championship, the second straight and 10th overall for the program. The set scores were 18-25, 24-26, 25-23, 27-25, 15-4.
“Another successful run, unfortunately came to an end last night,” read a message on X from the team’s account. “16-10 for varsity, undefeated for JV, (freshmen) 16-1 and endless legacies that will continue to live on! Thank you to our seniors for leaving this program in better shape than it was before!”
It was the last match for Ram seniors Sandra Lobeski, Grace Higgins, Emily Fontaine, Samantha Licki, Julia Bator, Lily Hinton and Daigelis Figueroa. Figueroa, Hinton and junior Lily Kirk were All-Central Connecticut Conference selections, and Kirk was also first team All-State.
Here were the stat leaders for Bristol Central in Saturday’s final against Farmington:
Kills – Kirk 21, Higgins 15
Aces – Kirk 4, Hinton 3, junior Ella Pratt 2
Total blocks – Pratt 8, sophomore Isabella Alves 3, Fontaine 2, Kirk 1, Higgins 1
Digs – Figueroa 34, Kirk 15, Hinton 13, junior Caitlyn Carbone 10
Assists – Hinton 40
Serve-receives – Figueroa 40, Higgins 24, Kirk 15
