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Plenty of growth this year for Canton spikers

The Warriors won four games in their third varsity campaign.

The Warriors won four games in their third varsity campaign.

CANTON – The Canton High girls volleyball team continues to make progress. Results didn’t always show up on the scoreboard. The Warriors went 4-16 on the season and 3-15 in the NCCC.

In their third season as a varsity program, Canton was much more competitive. “We’ve seen some tremendous growth,” second-year coach Samantha Brady-Harraden said.

In a 3-2 loss to Lewis Mills, Canton was in virtually each game. They lost two games by 26-24 scores and the fifth deciding set by an 18-16 margin. Against Bolton, the Warriors dropped a pair of 25-23 games In early September. Against a Suffield team that has won 12 games, Canton dropped a 28-26 game.

“Our passing is getting more and more consistent,” Brady-Harraden said. “We’ve been passing and serving better as the season goes on.”

Canton came out on top in some close matches, too. In a 3-1 win over Hartford Classical, the Warriors prevailed with scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 25-22. In a 3-0 win over Enfield, Canton won games by scores of 26-24, 27-25 and 25-23.

Sophomore Amber Harraden was the top player on the squad this fall. She had a team-high 144 kills and led the team in serving aces (48) and blocks (42). She had 16 kills in the win over Classical in late October.

Junior Emma Plourd led the team with 178 assists and had 51 kills and 37 serving aces. Plourd had 15 assists in the win over Classical.

Three seniors – Charlotte Oswald, Sydney Abate and Hope Hiza – had strong seasons. Abate had 33 kills while Hiza had over 200 digs on the year. Sophomore Rachel Falzone had 30 serving aces while junior Sophia Pelehach had 25 blocks and sophomore Rachael Schempp had 20 blocks. Seniors Gianna Cassetta, Nikki Powe and Morgan Nickerson also played well and contributed to the team’s success.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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