Going into the season, Griswold High School volleyball coach Jamie Bruno said he wasn’t quite sure the Wolverines had all the pieces they needed to compete at a high level.

It’s hard to imagine Griswold, which came into the week 16-2 with an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II title, having more pieces than it already has.

“My girls are playing very well this year and I am really proud of the growth I have seen in many of them,” said Bruno, whose team will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ECC Division I tournament, earning a home game Friday against No. 6 Norwich Free Academy.

“We still need work in some areas but are definitely improving every week and should have a strong postseason.”

The Wolverines were 13-9 a year ago with bids in the ECC and Class M state tournaments.

Then they started this season 1-2, matching up in the early going against ECC powers Woodstock Academy (3-0 loss) and East Lyme (3-2 loss) before launching what has turned into a 15-game winning streak.

To start with, Griswold returned two of the best hitters in the ECC in seniors Kierra Neilson and Abby Matheson, who combine to average 7.4 kills per set.

Neilson has 254 kills and 73 blocks, both team bests, while Matheson, who joined Neilson on last year’s ECC all-star team, has 193 kills, 159 digs and has received 239 serves.

In addition, there’s sophomore hitter Rebecca Marsh, serving 94.3%; junior libero Carly Rubino with 257 digs and 364 service receptions and sophomore setter and coach’s daughter Bella Bruno with 531 assists, all leading the team.

“Kierra has been outstanding in the middle and leads the team in blocks and kills. Abby has also been doing a great job attacking the ball and playing great defense as well,” Jamie Bruno said.

“Bella has done a great job adjusting to the full-time setter role and has really excelled at turning off-the-net passes into good sets. ... It can definitely be challenging at times coaching your own child, but I still run the team the same way as if she is just one of the team.”

Over and over ... and over

A schedule change wound up giving the Waterford boys’ soccer team back-to-back games against ECC Division II rival Stonington to close the regular season.

Stonington won the first of the two consecutive games 2-0 on Oct. 10, but Waterford came back with a 3-1 defeat of the Bears on Oct. 19, pushing the Lancers’ record to 8-3-4 overall, 2-2-2 in the division.

“The matchup last week was a fun one,’ Waterford coach Josh Bessette said of the loss to Stonington. ”We dominated the first half and probably should’ve scored two or three goals. Stonington dominated the second half and scored a couple.

“We switched formations this week (for the victory). We thought we could benefit from an additional midfielder. But the boys deserve the credit. They played great, organized team soccer.”

The teams now meet for a third time this month, facing off in the ECC Division I tournament quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Waterford.

A losing streak no longer

Stonington’s girls’ soccer team began the season 0-4 after losses to Woodstock (3-0), Chariho (3-2), Bacon Academy (2-0) and Waterford (5-0). The Bears are now 10-5 overall and the No. 4 seed in the ECC Division I tournament, earning a home game in Thursday’s quarterfinals against No. 5 East Lyme.

Stonington is in the midst of a six-game winning streak.

“The team is competing and has really worked to improve as individuals and as a team,” Bears coach Jen Solomon said of the turnaround.

“The girls don’t take any opponent lightly and they focus on one game at a time. We don’t dwell on the losses. We instead used them to help us identify areas we needed to improve on and areas where we were doing well.”

And more

The quarterfinals for the ECC volleyball tournaments will be played Friday as follows: Division I, No. 8 Killingly at No. 1 East Lyme, No. 5 Waterford at No. 4 Fitch, No. 6 NFA at No. 3 Griswold and No. 7 Ledyard at No. 2 Woodstock Academy; Division II, No. 8 New London at No. 1 Wheeler, No. 5 Plainfield at No. 4 Windham, No. 6 Lyman Memorial at No. 3 Montville and No. 7 Putnam at No. 2 Bacon Academy. ... Griswold (Division II), Montville (Division III) and Wheeler (Division IV) won ECC titles in volleyball. The Division I regular-season champion, currently deadlocked between East Lyme and Woodstock, will be determined by whichever team has the highest finish at the ECC tournament.

Montville’s volleyball team, which will compete in the Class S state tournament, defeated Class L Mercy in a five-set match last week which coach Harold Branstrom termed as “spirited.” Sophomore setter Kayla Terni finished with 18 assists for the Wolves, who won the fifth game 15-13. “I am proud of the way our team was able to come back in this match, not once but twice,” Branstrom said. “They showed a mindfulness and resilience that allowed us to get this win. This is a trait which will be a key to success as we move into the postseason.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com