No. 1 seed Conard had to get by its crosstown West Hartford rival, No. 9 Hall, to reach the semifinals of the CIAC Class L volleyball tournament.

By Bridget Dawson and Kayleigh Martin. Photos by Craig Rosenberg

In a heated CIAC Class L quarterfinal matchup between West Hartford’s Conard and Hall high school boys volleyball teams, Conard took the win, 3-2, and will advance to the semifinal round.

Conard led the first set, 21-25 after some great sets and hit from each side. In the regular season, Conard shutout Hall 13-25, so this was a big feat for Hall. The Titans were organized and ready to face the Red Wolves’ seasoned, experienced, and undefeated team.

Hall showed up in the second set, alternating tied scores from point nine, all the way to when Hall was losing 17-21. Hall eventually gained their lead back in order to reach their winning score of 22-25. Conard captain Tristan McClay explained that losing a set was “a good lesson” because the team thought they would sweep Hall, and win three sets in a row.

Conard, clearly motivated by their second set loss, started and ended incredibly strong in the third set. They were up 10-0 before Hall scored their first point. After 16 Conard points, Hall had scored two, and after Conard won the set with 25 points, Hall had only scored nine.

In a true back and forth match, Hall took back the tie, and won the fourth set. After their triumphant win in the fourth, they shocked Conard by harnessing newfound ability to play as a team, giving the undefeated Red Wolves a run for their money.

Hall coach Elena Pevar explained that the Hall team “has a lot of fight” and this game was “the best they’ve played.”

Although Hall showed up and showed out, their efforts were not matched with a win. Conard took the victory for the overall match, winning the fifth set 15-12.

The Conard vs. Hall rivalry always brings out the most intense side of both teams. Conard boys volleyball coach Kerry Roller said that Friday’s game was “very stressful” due to the competitive atmosphere that drove the match to five sets. Both Conard and Hall fans were on the edge of their seats throughout the game, ready to cheer on their teams.

Coach Roller additionally stated that, “(Hall) was a very different team than we played last game of the regular season.” She said that Hall has “grown a lot in the last two weeks and they really played well.” The last time Conard and Hall met in the regular season, Conard was able to sweep Hall in a 3-0 win, in which Hall “didn’t give us a lot of competition” according to Roller. However, this time around Hall was well prepared for Conard.

Pevar stated that she was very proud of her team. “We prepared for this game,” she said, adding that “that was the best they played, they showed up and they kind of just went all in, they went for it.” Hall truly put up a fight to Conard, forcing them to five sets and only losing by three points, demonstrating the competitive nature of this match.

Undefeated Conard is set to face No. 4 seed Shelton (20-3) in the semifinals on Monday. The match begins at 7 p.m. at Southington High School.

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