EHHS volleyball team makes states

The Hornets get in position to recieve a serve during the first set. Photos by Evan Pajer.

In its last regular game against South Windsor, East Hartford High School's varsity girls' volleyball team had its sights set on a much bigger goal - getting into the state tournament. That goal was accomplished after the team defeated East Catholic and won the Central Connecticut Conference tournament. Going into their last game, the Hornets faced a challenge: both of their captains were out with injuries, one with a fractured ankle, the other with a pulled back muscle.

It was clear from the beginning of the game that the Hornets were still figuring out how to adapt to playing without their captains. The team quickly fell behind two points in the first set, largely due to missed serves. Although at times the Hornets seemed to struggle to keep up, South Windsor made just as many errors. East Hartford eventually managed to tie the game and even gain a two-point lead over South Windsor, before falling behind four points to end the first set, 25-21.

The second set looked far better for the East Hartford girls, who rapidly turned a 1-1 tie into a 9-3 lead, showing everyone why they deserved to make the state tournament. However, as the game continued, South Windsor scored nine consecutive points, interrupted only by a single serving error, bringing the game to 15-10. The errors continued, and East Hartford found themselves six points behind South Windsor, ending the set at 18-25.

The third set was a repeat of the first two for East Hartford. The Hornets fell behind one point in the beginning, gained a one-point lead to bring the set to 9-8, then fell behind five points to end the set at 25-20.

Coach Martin Martinez said the team will be forced to adapt for the tournament. “We have both of our captains out due to injury. We're going to have to change our game plan,” he said.