Groton — What may have begun as a conversation awash in wishful thinking became downright prophetic, this pregame repartee between Fitch High School coach Steve Banks and Matt Maynard of Waterford.

"I told Matt it would be really something if we saw each other (Thursday) night,” Banks said, alluding to the championship match of the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I volleyball tournament.

Consider the unlikeliness: Fitch lost twice to its semifinal opponent, top-seeded Woodstock Academy, during the regular season. Waterford went 0-for-the-regular season against Lyman Memorial. And all both programs did was win — impressively — Wednesday night.

No. 5 Fitch took down the Centaurs 25-18, 25-20, 25-14, after No. 3 Waterford made the finals 23-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-21. The teams, who split during the regular season, play in the finals at 6 p.m. Thursday at Norwich Free Academy.

“I could tell right away,” Banks said after watching his team win its ninth straight match. “I knew if we could get the ball to our hitters, we’d be tough. We did that early.”

Karly Morales had 32 assists for the Falcons, while Nora Ryan had 20 kills and 12 digs, Nyseanah Ishmael 10 kills and Marlo Sim eight digs.

“I’m just so proud of our girls,” Banks said. “We hit a rough stretch in the middle of the season and we began to doubt ourselves. We decided to take the high road. We’re playing really well.”

And so are the Lancers, who lost to Lyman three times during the regular season, including once in a tournament at RHAM. Lyman, as it had against Waterford all season, won a close first game. Yet there were no “here-we-go-agains” forthcoming from the Lancers.

“We came in to do a job tonight,” senior Ryleigh Gonyo said. “We wanted to make sure there wasn’t one point that dropped without a body hitting the floor.”

Gonyo had 26 kills, 10 digs and eight aces to lead Waterford, while Sabrina Kobyluck had 41 assists and Rachel Miller finished with 22 digs and 11 kills.

“All season, we’ve had great leadership and great buy-in,” Maynard said. “We said the second the regular season ended that this would become all about detail for us. The kids have really responded.”

Which sets up an interesting championship match between the third and fifth seeds.

“It’s going to be a great match,” Banks said. “Ryleigh Gonyo is one of the best hitters in the state. We’re really looking forward to it.”

m.dimauro@theday.com