
Canton’s Sarah Bowman (32) leaps to make a block in last week’s loss to Bolton. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)
CANTON, Oct. 6 – The Canton High girls volleyball is still a young program – now playing in their sixth varsity season. A year ago, the Warriors had their first-ever winning record, going 11-9 and earning a spot in the Class S tournament for the second year in a row.
The Warriors are getting more competitive. In the first five seasons as a team, Canton has played in just two five-game matches – beating Ellington a year ago, 3-2 and losing to Enfield, 3-2 in 2015.
This fall, Canton has played in five-game matches five times in the first nine matches of the season. They won just once – beating Ellington, 15-12 in the decisive fifth game. But it shows that the Warriors can play with their competition.
Against Rockville, Canton dropped the first two games of the match. But the Warriors didn’t fold. They won game three, 26-24 and captured game four, 26-24. The Rams, playing in the NCCC for the first time after more than 30 years in the Central Connecticut Conference, won the fifth game and the match with a 15-6 victory.
Against Ellington, Canton took game three with a close 25-23 victory. The Purple Knights rallied to tie the match with a 25-20 decision in game four but Canton took the match with a 15-12 victory in game five. Sarah Bowman had five kills, four serving aces and three blocks.
One of Bowman’s better performances of the season came in a 3-2 loss to Academy of Science and Innovation in New Britain with 14 kills, four blocks and two aces. Canton rallied to tie the match a 2-2 with a 25-14 victory in game four before Innovation won the match with a 15-11 victory in game five.
Last Friday, East Windsor and the Warriors battled in a five-game marathon. The Panthers won game one, 25-22 before Canton won the next two games with 25-22 and 25-21 victories. East Windsor rallied to keep the match alive with a 25-20 win in game four before taking a 15-10 victory in the fifth game.
Canton (3-6, 2-5 NCCC) has also dropped five-set decisions this fall to Suffield and East Windsor. The Warriors do own a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Public Safety Academy from Enfield and Hartford Classical. Lauren Puglielli had five kills, four serving aces and eight digs in the win over Public Safety.
This week, Canton plays at Weaver-Hartford on Wednesday in a non-league contest before traveling to Suffield on Friday. Head coach Eileen Holden is now in her third year with the Warriors.
Since 2009, the Collinsville Press has been providing award-winning coverage of sports and news in the Farmington Valley and across Connecticut.


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