Teams in the same division, or even the same town, are used to playing each other twice in the same season.
Heck, three times isn’t out of the question, but that’s usually reserved for the league tournament.
That’s not the case for Bristol’s city volleyball rivals.
In the first round of Class L girls volleyball on Monday, No. 15 Bristol Central (13-7 regular season) plays host to No. 18 Bristol Eastern (12-7) at 6 p.m. These two have already played each other twice. The Lancers won both meetings, but they rallied to escape Bristol Central High School in the regular season finale with a 3-2 victory. Central was up 2-1, but Eastern came back to win the final two sets and the match.
In Class S boys soccer first round action on Monday, No. 10 Sacred Heart (9-6-1) hosts No. 23 Holy Cross (5-7-4) at 3:45 p.m. at a location to be determined. The CIAC website currently says Sacred Heart is the location, but that’s not physically possible (no fields at SHHS). The site will be changed, likely to Waterville Park or Municipal Stadium. Municipal could mean a time change, but we’ll wait and see.
The Hearts won the only matchup between the teams, 1-0 at Waterville Park on Sept. 12.
There’s also familiar league matchups. In boys soccer, No. 18 Bristol Central goes to Meriden to play No. 15 Maloney in Class L at Monday at 2 p.m. The Rams won the only regular season matchup, 3-1 on Sept. 25.
In girls volleyball, No. 25 Kaynor Tech goes to No. 8 Wilcox Tech on Monday for a 6 p.m. Class M match. The Panthers lost the only meeting of the regular season by a score of 3-1 on Sept. 29.
Here are the other locals playing in the state tournament
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Class S: No. 12 Holy Cross vs. No. 21 MLC, Monday at 6 p.m.
Class M: No. 11 Wolcott vs. No. 22 Sheehan, Monday at 3 p.m.
Class LL: No. 26 Kennedy at No. 7 Danbury, Monday at 4:30 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Class M: No. 26 Wolcott at No. 7 Haddam-Killingworth, Monday at 2 p.m.
Class L Qualifying Round: No. 33 Bristol Eastern at No. Cheney Tech, today at 1:30 p.m.
No. 35 Wilby at Weston, today at 6 p.m.
Class L first round: No. 19 Kennedy at No. 14 Wethersfield, Monday at 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Class S: No. 4 St. Paul has first round bye Tuesday, hosts winner of No. 13 St. Bernard/No.
20 Lyman Memorial on Thursday at 2 p.m.
No. 2 Holy Cross has first round bye Tuesday, hosts winner of No. 15 Stafford/No.
18 Somers on Thursday at 2 p.m.
Class M: No. 15 Wolcott vs. No. 18 Amistad, Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Class L: No. 23 Bristol Eastern at No. 10 Bullard Havens, Tuesday at 2 p.m.
No. 27 Bristol Central at No. 6 Bacon Academy, Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Also this week:
DIVING
Class M (Bristol Central), Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., Bulkeley HS
Class S (Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, St. Paul), Thursday at 4:30 p.m., Bulkeley HS
Class L (Bristol Eastern, Kennedy, Wilby/Kaynor Tech), Thursday at 5:30 p.m., Middletown HS
SWIMMING (QUALIFYING)
Class M, Saturday, 11/11 at 11:30 a.m., Masuk HS
Class S, Saturday, 11/11 at 2 p.m., Plainville HS
Class L, Saturday, 11/11 at 6 p.m., East Hartford HS
NOTE: Game times are subject to change, as are locations in some cases. Go to the CIAC Tournament Central page to find out about changes.
