Boys' Volleyball: Opening Day Games to Watch (4/6-4/8)

Although the season starts on 4/6, I am going to include all the games on this 3-day opening week:

Wednesday 4/6

Bulkeley @ Glastonbury @ 5pm
-Bulkeley enters their second year of having a CIAC-sanctioned team (as in it's more than just a club) after a fairly good 6-10 first year.  Glastonbury, the perennial Class L powerhouse, has championship hopes again this year (lost in Semifinals last year) and will start off their run with a decent team.

Masuk @ Ridgefield @ 5:30
-Masuk was the Class M runner-up last year and Ridgefield had a very good team that fell victim to Xavier in the Class L Quarterfinals.  Ridegfield was young though and expects to have an even better season in 2011.

Lewis Mills @ Xavier @ 530
-Lewis Mills, the defending Class M Champion, lost their entire starting six to graduation and Xavier, who lost last year to eventual Class L Champion Southington in the Semifinals, has only one returning starter so this will be a match between two good schools with brand new teams.  Lewis Mills is led by outside hitter Eric Woodcox while Xavier's returning starter, Sean Nelson, went all All-SCC last year and signed a LOI with DII Lewis University in the winter.

Danbury @ Cheshire @ 6
-For the second year in a row, these two start off the season against one another.  Both are good teams in Class L with high hopes for this year so they are looking to start off their seasons well.

Thursday 4/7

Fermi @ Norwich Free Academy @ 630pm
-After decent seasons in 2010, both of these programs will be looking to get off on the right foot, especially Fermi who plays in Class M but can definitely get the win here against NFA from Class L.

Friday 4/8

Southington @ Fermi @ 5pm
-The defending Class L Champions, Southington, start off the season on the road against a decent Fermi team.

Glastonbury @ South Windsor @ 5
-The SW Bobcats are looking to build on their 8-9 season from last year and Glastonbury takes on another decent opponent in the first three days of the season, something that can only help.

Maloney @ Bloomfield @ 5
-Both went .500 at 9-9 last year, taking the 9 and 8 seeds in the Class M tournament respectively.  Bloomfield won that match 3-1 (25-16 21-25 25-20 25-20) so this a vengeance game for sure!

Some NOTES:

*Conard has moved up from Class M to Class L this year; they went 6-12 last year.
*Once again, Cheney Tech has a team again this year and will be competing in Class L this year.
*Bristol Eastern has a team this year and will be competing in Class M.
*There will not be any rankings until around May 1st, the half-way point of the regular season!