Canton spikers seeking first-ever CIAC tournament win against Old Lyme

Canton’s Nora Wallace (10) leads the team with 116 kills. The Warriors face Old Lyme in the Class S state tournament Monday. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

CANTON – The Canton High girls volleyball team is looking to make a little history in Monday’s Class S tournament game.

The Warriors (11-9, 6-3 NCCC) will be hosting No. 22 seed Old Lyme (9-11) in a first round contest and will be looking for a school-record 12^th victory and their first-ever CIAC tournament win.

It’s only the fourth CIAC tournament appearance for the Warriors since the girls volleyball program was established in 2012 and it is the first state tournament match since 2019.

Canton won seven of their final nine matches of the season. The Warriors were 4-6 when they beat Hall in early October, 3-2 in a comeback victory.

Against Hall, Canton won the first game 25-22 before dropping two games. But the Warriors won game four 29-27 and prevailed in game five, 15-13 with the final two points of the game.

“We took off from there,” second-year coach Joe Sobowicz said. “We found the confidence that we can hang with these schools that are bigger than us. We’ve always been on the brink and haven’t broken through yet.”

Canton swept Wolcott High and avenged an earlier five-set defeat to Ellington with a 3-1 victory that included victories in the final three games of the match.

Ashley Briggs makes a pass earlier this season against Granby. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

It’s the second winning season in team history. Canton went 11-9 in 2016 during the regular season before losing a match in the NCCC Tournament and Class S tournament to finish 11-11.

Sobowicz credits the team’s chemistry, their hard work in the off season and their tenacity on the floor.

“The girls put in a lot of hard work in the offseason,” Sobowicz said. The girls played with local club teams and had unofficial practices and conditioning sessions together during the summer.

Junior Nora Wallace leads the team with 116 kills followed by sophomore Mia Whilby (90 kills), junior Madisyn Reardon (79) and junior Katie Bicking (76). Libero (defensive specialist) Madison Rodriguez has a team-high 332 digs and 36 serving aces. Junior setter Kate Enquist has a team-leading 406 assists.

“We’re scappy,” Sobowicz said. “We have a no ball hits the floor mentality. We have a few young players who will hit the ball (more consistently) next year.”

Canton hasn’t lost to a Class S team since dropping a 3-0 decision to Coventry on Oct. 4. The Warriors dropped a five-match decision and a four-match loss in the NCCC Tournament to Rockville, who is playing in Class L tournament and a 3-0 decision to Northwestern, who is the No. 2 seed in the Class M tournament.

Sobowicz, a Wellness teacher in Canton, has coached the Farmington High junior varsity boys volleyball team for a several seasons.