Ledyard - Michelle Klinikowski, at 6-foot-2 and one of the most dominant volleyball players in the Eastern Connecticut Conference, was talking about one of Ledyard High School's highlights Thursday night.

Its blocking.

"I'm lucky to get to play with two extremely great blockers who are over 6-feet tall. Madison (Canestrari) and Hutch (Hannah Hutchins), they're really great players," Klinikowski said.

And that was Klinikowski forgetting about herself.

Canestrari finished with seven blocks and Klinikowski and Hutchins had six each as No. 4 Ledyard made things difficult for 20th seed and ECC rival Fitch to generate much offense.

Ledyard's Ari Fustini served to open the match, securing a 7-0 lead before she was done, and the Colonels went on to roll to a 25-11, 25-20, 25-17 victory over Fitch in the second round of the Class L state tournament.

Ledyard (23-1) moved on to host No. 5 Mercy in Saturday's quarterfinals at 7 p.m.

The Colonels were Class M champs last year, but moved up a division this year, as well as playing for a new head coach in Rich Duwelius.

"They brought it all tonight," said Fitch coach Steve Banks, whose team, which employed a new defense against Ledyard, finished the season 13-11. "You're not going to beat a team like that missing serves. Against them you need to play error-free ball, keep serves in and get a little lucky. Give the credit to that team. They put the pressure on us."

"The blocking was the best it's been all year," Duwelius said. "That set the tone for us."

Banks, during the ECC tournament, said he might rather play Ledyard in the state tournament than some of the other state powerhouses. Ledyard, though, looked pretty much like a powerhouse Thursday, and a well-balanced one at that.

Ari Fustini and Klinikowski had six kills each, Alyssa Gregory six service aces and Jenny Nohara 20 assists.

Caroline Taber and Mackenzie Aldridge had six kills each for Fitch and Mae Sefransky 13 assists.

Fitch had its best chance in the second game, playing its best defense and keeping the score close, as neither team was able to sustain service, trading six straight times.

Taber gave Fitch a 20-19 lead with two straight kills, but Fustini tied the match for Ledyard and the Colonels scored the last six points with Hutchins putting the finishing touches on a 2-0 lead with a kill.

Leading 22-15 in the third game, Duwelius called a timeout.

"We were trying to break the momentum," he said. "It wasn't so much for us to settle down, it was to try to reset the game ... when Fitch gets the momentum, they get excited."

"We definitely know (Fitch is) a strong team. They beat a higher seed (No. 13 Bunnell) in the last round. That was in the back of our minds. But we were definitely pretty pumped up."

Ledyard's multi-faceted attack continues to be one of its strengths, having already paced the Colonels to ECC Large Division and conference tournament titles.

"The harder the opposition is, the more you need everyone to contribute," Duwelius said. "... I've enjoyed watching them play this year, but I guess any time you're 23-1 you enjoy it. They deserve what's coming to them. They deserve their success."

v.fulkerson@theday.com