Canton spikers battle but drop first match of season to Hall

Canton’s leading hitter Mia Whilby puts down a spike in Thursday night’s match at Hall in West Hartford. The Warriors lost, 3-1. More match photos

WEST HARTFORD, Sept. 25, 2025 – The Canton High girls volleyball team is in uncharted territory.

The Warriors won their first eight games of the season – the first time in program history they started the season that well and won that many games in a row.

In that seven-game run, they beat Lewis Mills for the first time in four meetings along with victories over Ellington and Northwestern Regional.

On Wednesday, the Warriors earned their ninth straight win by beating Avon for the first time with a 3-1 decision. On Thursday, Canton faced Hall, which came into the match with six wins in eight matches.

Canton played tough but Hall was just a little bit more composed in a see-saw 3-1 victory that saw the Titans prevail, 25-23, 25-23, 20-25 and 25-22 to hand the Warriors their first loss of the season.

In game two, Canton had a nine point lead, 21-12, but the Titans used an 11-1 surge to take the lead back. In game four, Canton had a five-point lead, 14-9, but the Titans ripped off 12 consecutive points to take command of the game and the match.

“It is important for them to understand the value of each point,” said Hall’s Christine Makhout, the freshman coach who was filling in for varsity coach Elena Revar, who couldn’t attend the contest. “They really calmed down and fought for every point. It was really important to get that ball back over the net.”

This was the second game of a tough stretch against three challenging volleyball programs – Avon, Hall and Coventry. The Warriors (9-1) face the Patriots (9-2) on Tuesday, a program that has played in five Class S championship matches since 2017, winning three times (2023, 2021 and 2017).

“These are the teams we are going to see in the future so we have to step up and prepare them,” second-year coach Andrew Barnes said. “We have six amazing seniors who have dedicated a ton of time and effort to this program.”

Canton’s Emery Howard tries to hit over Hall;s Nybol Bona in Thursday night’s volleyball match at Hall. The host Titans won, 3-1. More match photos

Canton (9-1) deserved to be on the floor with the Titans but had periods of mistakes that allowed Hall to get back in the match. They weren’t long periods but it was enough for the Titans (7-2).

In game two, Emery Howard had consecutive kills to push the Canton lead to seven, 19-12. The lead grew to nine points at 21-12 and it looked liked Canton would be able to tie the match. Hall won game one, 25-23.

But an 11-1 run put Hall in the lead. Facing game point, a kill from Canton’s Avery Rodriguez cut the Hall lead to one, 24-23 but Hall’s dominant 6-foot-3 junior Nybol Bona put down a kill to give Hall a 25-23 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

In game three, Bona had consecutive blocks for points to cut Canton’s lead to one. But the Warriors used a 7-2 surge to take a five-point lead. Hall cut the lead to four but the Warriors prevailed, 25-20 to cut the lead to 2-1.

In game four, Canton’s leading hitter Mia Whilby and Howard had consecutive kills to give Canton a five-point lead, 14-9. But a period of inconsistency – poor passes, hits going wide and Hall serving aces – allowed the Titans to turn a five-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 12-0 run.

Canton tried to rally. An serving ace from Sophia Mazza, a Hall misplay and a Whilby kill cut the lead to three, 21-18.

The Warriors fought off one match point when Keira Gerhold got a kill down the middle but Bona got a kill for Hall to secure the game, 25-22, and the match.

“I have to give it to this group,” Barnes said. “They bring family into everything. There isn’t a moment that goes that someone is by themselves. It is a group effort and a team.”