Canton spikers have won two of their last four matches

Canton’s Ciara Cebollero (5) makes a hit in the recent 3-2 loss to Ellington in NCCC play. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

CANTON, Sept. 24 – After opening the season with three straight losses and failing to win a single game, the Canton High girls volleyball team has been much more competitive in the last four matches.

Canton has won two of their last four matches with a 3-2 win over Gilbert a week ago and a 3-0 shutout win over Hartford Classical on Wednesday, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21.

The two losses came in a very competitive 3-2 loss to Ellington as the Warriors rallied from a two-game deficit to force a deciding fifth game and a 3-1 loss to New Britain’s Innovation charter school, scoring 23 points in three of the four games.

Against Gilbert, Canton (2-5, 1-4 NCCC) was down 2-1 after three games but the Warriors battled back to tie the match at 2-2 with a 25-23 victory. In the decisive game five, Canton prevailed, 15-8 to earn their first victory of the season (25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8).

Lauren Puglielli had six kills and five serving aces in the victory while sophomore Mackenzie Archangelo and Sarah Bowman had five kills each. Junior setter Ella Schand had 16 assists in the win.

Canton’s Morgan Giblin (2) makes a pass in the Warriors’ 3-2 loss to Ellington. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Canton came close to making it two wins in a row but dropped a hard-fought decision to Ellington, 25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 23-25, 15-10 on Friday. The Warriors led 2-0 after the first two games but the host Purple Knights were able to claw their way back into the game with consecutive victories to force a decisive game five.

Bowman led the way for Canton with 11 kills and seven blocks. Archangelo had six serving aces while Schand had 15 assists. Puglielli had six serving aces and 10 digs.

There was another tough game for Canton on Monday in a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23 loss to the Academy of Science and Innovation of New Britain. Bowman was dominant at the net with eight kills and 17 blocks.

Junior Ciarace Cebollero had seven kills while Archangelo had seven serving aces and 15 digs. Emma Maten had five serving aces for Canton while Schand had 21 assists.

Canton’s Ella Shand (4) makes a pass in last week’s loss against Ellington. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Wednesday’s win over Classical was a battle, too with two-point win in game one, a three-point win in game two and a four-point edge in game four. But the Gladiators had at least 21 points in every game. Schand had seven assists, two kills and three aces serving for Canton.

The Warriors return to action on Friday when they host Bolton at the high school.

Through six games, Bowman leads the team with 36 kills with Archangelo second with 27 kills. Puglielli and Archangelo led the team with 16 serving aces each while Bowman has made 31 blocks. Cebollero has made 17 blocks. Defensively, Archangelo leads with 52 digs while Schand has a team-leading 81 assists.