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Avon spikers look forward to challenge against No. 1 Coventry

AVON, Oct. 2 – The Coventry High girls volleyball team has been a dominant team over the past decade, winning eight of the last nine Class S titles, including the last six in a row. Since joining the NCCC in 2006, the Patriots have won the last six league championships.

This fall, Coventry (6-0, 5-0 NCCC) is currently the No. 1 ranked team in the state volleyball coaches poll with a 58-match winning streak. That includes a 3-0 sweep of Southington, which finished second in Class LL a year ago.

No. 10 Avon welcomes the Patriots Wednesday in a key NCCC showdown at the high school with the varsity match expected to begin at 5:30 p.m. The Falcons (6-0, 5-0 NCCC) are excited to see where they stand with Coventry in their biggest test yet of the season.

“They are the No. 1 team in the state and they didn’t really lose any impact players (from last year),” Avon coach Curt Burns said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge. The gym should be packed.”

Coventry has a senior laden team led by 5-foot-9 Marina Rose (302 kills, 280 digs in 2011), a player that Patriot coach Ryan Giberson thinks is the best player in the state, according to Max Preps.com. Setter Emma Rose and hitters 5-8 Alyssa Keeney and Jess Beausoleil are also big impact players.

Avon is led by 5-foot-11 senior Jackie Greenberg, who transferred to Avon from Blacksburg, Virginia this year. Greenberg leads the team in kills (96), aces (24) and serve percentage. “She is an impact player who is attracting some Division I interest,” Burns said.

Five-foot-eight senior hitter Ariel Lepito, who earned All-NCCC honors last fall, is in the starting lineup along with 5-10 senior Alee McDonald, 6-foot junior Madison Mains (team-high 12 blocks) and 5-8 sophomore Caitlin Cunningham. Five-eight senior Claire Nelson is in her first full season as setter.

Avon has won 18 of 19 games this season, only dropping one game to Bolton last Friday. Burns hopes that the Falcons can use their size advantage to help slow down the Patriots. No one on Coventry is taller than 5-9.

“We have an outside chance with a player like Jackie Greenburg, a dominant player who can match up with their best player,” he said. “Our size and blocking could cause some problems and we’ll try to use our size to negate their power. But we have to serve well and receive well.”

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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