Sports
Staples To Meet Southington In Rematch Of Last Year's Classic Class L Volleyball Final
Last year, the Blue Knights defeated Staples in five games to end the Wreckers' 101-match winning streak and bid for a fifth consecutive state championship
Get ready for a rematch of last year's memorable Class L volleyball state final between Staples and Southington.
The third-seeded Wreckers, who had their eight-year reign as FCIAC champion snapped by Darien last week, defeated No. 11 Danbury 25-20, 25-9, 25-17 Friday night in the quarterfinals.
Southington, the No. 2 seed, advanced Friday with a 25-14, 25-20, 25-20 win over No. 7 Greenwich.
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The Wreckers and Blue Knights will meet on Tuesday in the semifinals at a site and time to be determined.
Their postseason meeting last year turned into an epic encounter as Southington defeated Staples 10-25, 28-26, 25-23, 19-25, 15-11 in the Class L final to snap the Wreckers' 101-match winning streak.
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It was the first loss since 2006 for Staples, which was denied a fifth consecutive state championship.
Staples coach Bruce Betts, who guided the Wreckers to the state final in nine of their previous 10 years, later retired, replaced by Jon Shepro.
The teams did meet in the regular season this year with Staples posting a 3-0 win at Southington on April 29, but this is the match the Wreckers have been waiting for.
On the other side of the bracket,top seed Cheshire will face No. 4 Ridgefield in the semifinals.
in their bid for a fifth-straight Class L State Championship.
Staples (19-1) had not lost a match since 2006 and had won eight out of the past nine state championships it played in.
The Wreckers defeated Southington to win their past three
