All-State Spotlight: Evelyn Brenton

Evelyn Brenton, a volleyball player at Glastonbury High School, was named to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) All-State first team.
           
“It’s something that I wanted and I worked towards it, but it was honestly something that I didn’t expect at all,” Brenton said of the recognition, “The hard work really paid off.”
           
Brenton, a junior, led the Guardians in both kills (239) and blocks (50) this fall, protecting the net for a Guardians team that posted a 17-7 record, including a victory in the first round of the Class LL state tournament. 
           
“We started out a little bit rocky, all of us in general, but the thing is that we are all close friends so it helped us mesh really well together and by our second game we had a pretty solid lineup,” recalled Brenton.  “We managed to keep our own energy up and by the end of the season we were rock solid.”
           
Brenton exceeded expectations this season, teaming with seniors Anastasiya Andriyashko and Kiley Feeney to create a powerful front line. 
           
“It was amazing,” Brenton said of the trio’s chemistry, “I know there were a couple of times that I just missed but Ana would be right there or Kiley would be right there. They were always helpful.”
           
Brenton added that she felt Andriyashko deserved All-State recognition as well, calling her teammate “absolutely amazing.”
           
This fall, she also enhanced an already strong bond with setter Sara Wild, who is also a junior. 
           
“We’ve played with each other in the past, so we already had that connection but we just built it stronger,” Brenton said of her connection with Wild, who led the team with 544 assists. “We’ll be going into our third year together. She knows what I like and I know what she likes.” 
           
With each passing match, Brenton and the team improved. She registered season-high 17 kills in an Oct. 7 win over Farmington and then matched that total and tied her season-high in blocks (5) in a five-set victory over Bristol Central in the opening round of the Central Connecticut Conference tournament on Nov. 1.
           
Following a 3-4 start, the Guardians won 13 of their next 14. 
           
“We were really good friends which made it easier to play with them and trust them. You need that trust on the count,” stated Brenton. 
           
Brenton will now compete with her 17 National club volleyball team based in Windsor, where she hopes to improve her passing skills. 
           
Off the court, Brenton is part of the GHS Key Club and a new member of Letters to Elders, which is a group of students that write letters to residents of nursing homes, creating a pen pal relationship.  
           
​In her downtime Brenton enjoys boating, both motor and sail, with her family in the Long Island Sound. She is also an avid paddle boarder, heading out on the open waters with her Dobermann, Scooby.