The opening rounds of the CIAC volleyball tournaments begin on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Class LL, L, M, and S championships conclude on Friday, Nov. 20 at Bulkeley High School or Saturday, Nov. 21 at East Haven High School. Dates and times for each of the finals will be announced after the semifinals are completed.
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The quarterfinal round for each tournament will take place on Saturday, Nov. 14, and the semifinals will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 17-18.
GametimeCT girls volleyball writer Scott Ericson breaks down each of the four CIAC divisions, taking a look at the interesting storylines and top players to watch.
Class LL
Cardinals Soaring
Greenwich is the defending champion, and until proven otherwise, is the team to beat this year. The Cardinals are unbeaten and won the FCIAC tournament final 3-1 over Trumbull. Greenwich has only dropped four sets all year, three of them to Trumbull and one to Ludlowe in the FCIAC semifinal. Greenwich is deep beyond the senior trio of Harvard-bound Kayah Armstrong, Rider commit Heidi Zieme and Victoria Sullivan, who is headed to Franklin & Marshall. Junior libero Bailee Dayon has been excellent getting down for digs and fellow junior Sammie Tommasino earned MVP honors in the FCIAC final. Trumbull is here and could play Greenwich for a third time in the championship. The field also has Maloney, Glastonbury, Warde, Southington, NFA and Darien, but right now they are all chasing the Cardinals.
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Players to Watch
Kayah Armstrong, Greenwich, Sr., OH: Has 31 aces, 28 blocks and 173 kills.
Adriana Castillo, Trumbull, Sr., MH: Has 187 digs, 226 kills and a .395 hitting percentage.
Olive Hubbard, Amity, Sr., MH: Leading the Spartans in kills and blocks.
Greta Koscuk, Maloney, Jr., OH: Has 287 kills, 58 aces and 215 digs.
Peyton Reading, Glastonbury, Jr., MH: Has 51 blocks and 252 kills.
Class L
Highway to L
Class L often feels like the deepest field of contenders, and this year is no different. Even No. 1 seed and defending champion East Lyme could be put to the test if No. 17 Platt can get by No. 16 Weaver. The Vikings would then potentially face Bristol Eastern or Pomperaug in a quarterfinal. Then there is the pod with No. 2 Naugatuck, Guilford and Ledyard. No. 3 Masuk will have to fight through a pod with Berlin, Law and a very dangerous No. 11 seed in Windsor.
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Players to Watch
Maya Chatfield, Naugatuck, Jr., OH: Has 315 kills and 37 aces.
Savannah Drury, Bristol Eastern, Sr., OH: Has 166 kills and 52 aces.
Chloe Peek, North Haven, Fr., MB: Has 45 blocks, 58 aces and 127 kills.
Natalie Knowlton, East Lyme, Sr., OH: Has 271 kills and 26 blocks.
Mia Tyler, Masuk, Sr., S: Has 86 kills, 202 digs and 688 assists.
Class M
RHAM Tough
From 2013 to 2021, No. 7-seeded RHAM played in six Class L finals, winning four titles. Then the Raptors moved down to Class M. Since moving to Class M in 2022, RHAM has won three championships in four seasons, including last year. While the team lost some talent to graduation, it certainly has enough for another run. A closer look at RHAM’s 13-6 record shows that five of those losses came to teams seeded in the top 10 of the Class LL tournament: Trumbull, Maloney, Ludlowe and twice to Glastonbury. No. 1 Woodland is unbeaten, and Sacred Heart Academy and Granby Memorial each have one loss. SHA has never played in a CIAC volleyball final. The pod heading to one semifinal is loaded, with RHAM, Granby, Seymour and Barlow as well as Sheehan from the SCC.
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Players to Watch
Rian Calhoun, RHAM, Sr., S: Has 46 aces and 623 assists.
JJ Kirck, Sacred Heart Academy, Sr., L: Led SHA to the SCC title with 329 digs.
Teresa Moody, Granby Memorial, Sr., MH: Has 242 kills, 155 digs and 32 aces.
Nora Nemec, Woodland, Sr., MH: Has 202 kills and 39 blocks.
Mia Roberts, Barlow, Sr., OH: Has 160 digs and 334 kills.
Class S
Ready to Make Some Noises
Hale-Ray has not won a CIAC title since 1982 but has one of its best teams in recent memory, with just one loss to Class LL NFA. Coventry won the Class S title last season and brings back most of that team to make another run and stand in Hale-Ray’s way. The Patriots have reached seven S finals since 2015. Hale-Ray lost in last year’s semifinals to Canton, but Reagan Bean, Katy Hagerty and Fenway Jankowski have the Noises ready to make history. Since 2016, Hale-Ray has reached three finals, most recently losing in five sets to East Hampton in 2022.
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Players to Watch
Reagan Bean, Hale-Ray, Sr., OH: Has 246 kills, 194 digs and 65 aces.
Ella Chasanoff, North Branford, Sr., OH: Has 287 kills, 44 aces and 188 digs.
Ava DePaulo, Holy Cross, Sr., OH: Has 135 kills and 155 digs.
Teia Ransford, Coventry, Sr., S: Has 634 assists, 147 digs and 51 aces.
Leah Sterling, Wolcott Tech, Sr., OH: Leading the team in kills.
This article originally published at 2026 CIAC girls volleyball state tournament storylines, top players and what to know.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
