2023 ResV RI Girls Volleyball Preview
8/20/23
New Season time, and not a moment too soon! Coach Reslow is kind of done with the humid summer heat…
As with all campaigns, the 2023 season opens with many questions, primarily who is the team is to beat (and NK is the answer, so skip to the next), but also who will be on the ResV top 26 list and be invited to play in March at the ResV All-Star Charity Match? There are a lot of good players out there, so it’ll come down to execution and results. (We’ll get the shirt sizes more accurate this time around…)
More questions going into the 2023 schedule…Can North Kingstown run the table? Who will take control of D2 and D3? Can anyone knock off PCD in D4? Will rebuilt teams South Kingstown, Portsmouth, and East Greenwich challenge? How will the schools that moved Divisions fare (Looking at you Chariho and Bay View…)? How will new and old coaches adjust in this go around? How will the officials get on this season since they will be under the microscope after championships last Spring?
Let’s dive in, shall we?
You can see all the schedules and standings here…rST Standings - Girls Volleyball - Rhode Island Interscholastic League (riil.org)
Week One premiere matches…
9/7 - North Kingstown hosting La Salle Academy - 6:30pm - Let’s just get right to it, shall we? (#1 v. #2)
9/7 - South Kingstown at Portsmouth - 6pm - The Portsmouth gym is still haunted, right? (#5 hosting #3)
9/6 - Chariho hosting Mount Saint Charles - 6:30pm - The Cave’s first taste of D1 in a while plus MSC is under new management. (#6 v. #13)
9/6 - Classical at Coventry - 6:30pm - The Oakers looking to get on the board at the jump of the season. (#4 hosting #9)
9/6 - East Providence travels to Cranston West - 6:30pm - Townies are high picks in D2 and they’re going to the CW who just dropped down from D1. (#7 at Unranked)
9/7 - Bay View Academy on the road to St. Raphael Academy - 6:30pm - Fresh from winning the D3 title, Bay View sees consistently tough out St. Rays. (#14 at Unranked)
9/6 - Providence Country Day hosts Hope HS - 6pm - D4 championship rematch as PCD invites Hope for their 2023 D4 opening contest. (#15 hosting Unranked)
2023 Preseason Rankings…
North Kingstown (Head Coach - Brian Garrepy) - Skippers are built to run. Syd Henson is an early favorite for the Player of the Year. Ella Maack will be one of the top setters, if not the top setter, and she’ll have weapons like Annie Draper and Tessa LaFrenier to utilize on the pins. The Forge will continue to be a tough place for anyone to get a win. What may be the most interesting issue for the Skippers is the departure of top Assistant Coach Kevin Harrington.
La Salle Academy (Head Coach - Jhamal Diggs) - Depth should not be an issue for the Rams as they start a new era. Abby Crowley will run the show and should challenge for setter of the year. Kaelyn Whitaker will play a big role on the pin and Sofia D’Agostino should be another very good lib in the state. Coach Jhamal Diggs will look for his team to be close to perfect at the Mountain top coupled with a renewed focus for the road.
South Kingstown (Head Coach - Ian McCoy) - The Rebels in their last two years in the league finished with a championship and a runner-up conclusion with two different coaches. SK is also facing a new era having lost premier starters across the board to graduation. 2023 team will feature Sierra Thompson in the middle. Thompson may be the best MB in the state! Karmen Lambert should be day one OH1, and Mia Iemma and India Von-Hallene both will play significant roles, while Coach Ian McCoy will look to make the program’s third trip to the finals.
Coventry (Head Coach - Jon Bartlett) - The Oakers have been semi-finalists in back-to-back years. They lose their top libero in Taylor Stevenin, but otherwise, most everyone is back. Abby Spadoni is the arm on the left. Liv Rollinson will be another pin the Oakers will lean on. Addison Patrick is the top middle. Coach Jon Bartlett’s crew will be looking to limit errors this season for a strong march in the playoffs.
Portsmouth (Head Coach - Lisa Zabel) - The Patriots were the only team to take a set off of North Kingstown in the playoffs as the Skippers marched to the crown in 2022. Now, Morgan Casey is gone, the ResV player of the Year, due to graduation. Portsmouth still has one of the top setters in the state in Caitlin Mediate…maybe the top setter? Hailey Labonte should be the top pin for the Patriots with Avery Pelletier being another weapon to be counted on. Who sures up the middle will be the biggest question.
Chariho (Head Coach - Kathy McGeehan) - The Chargers move up to Division One after going undefeated in Division Two last year. Chariho also has almost everyone back from last year’s crew. Lexi Cole will once again run the offense with Katja Nelson providing skill in the middle and Jules White a big option on the pin. Jumping divisions isn’t easy, but the Chargers have a lot of the pieces to make a smooth transition.
East Providence (Head Coach - Alex Butler) - The Townies had a tough Division Two finals last year, however there is little reason to think they can’t get to the big game again. Keira Mullen will be the top pin as sophomore and should be the leading point scorer. Malia Mullen will have a good year anchoring the middle while Daniella Escudero will be another solid libero in the state. Losing five players to graduation is tough, and there are questions as to who has hands, but EP feels like a D2 title contender none the less.
Cumberland (Head Coach - Dave DeJesus) - The Clippers bowed out in the Division Two semis last year by East Providence. Not a great feeling, but certainly motivation for 2023. This Cumberland squad should be in the mix the entire year. Grace Iannuzzi will be the top weapon in the middle. Brennah Abilheira-Cargill is a top tier libero that should take away one side of the court. Ball control and tough serving should be the ingredients for success with this club.
Classical (Head Coach - John Polinick) - The Purple nabbed the 8th seed in D1 last year and were rewarded by playing the Skippers in the first round. Not a fun draw, but Classical competed well to end the season. In 2023, Paula Pesoa and Carmen Boyan are lost to graduation which means new hands and lib are coming. Returning are top point getters Harmony Forrest and Deana Baez (will Beaz take over setting duties?). Having solid enough ball control to allow for good swings will be the challenge.
East Greenwich (Head Coach - Sam Paquette) - The Avengers fell to Portsmouth in four in the 2022 quarterfinals ending the high school career of Melis Kocak. Kocak, a premiere pin for EG, will go on to play D2 ball at St. Anslem in NH. The Avengers will miss her as she was the focal point. Setter Grace Clark and Middle Ella Johnson also exit due to graduation. Either Amanda Duke or Abigail Guerzon will take over setting duties and Hannah Gaffney projectivity will swing on the pin. The rest of the rebuild will come in time, though you don’t get much time in D1.
Middletown (Head Coach - Gus Steppen) - Similarly to Portsmouth, in that Middletown was the only team to take a set off of eventual champions (in this case D2 Chariho), the Islanders return their top player in Gwen Delaney. Delaney will be the focal point of everything Middletown does and should have a monster year. Finishing in the semis of D2 last year was a solid achievement for Coach Gus Steppen and crew…is there a higher ceiling for 2023?
Barrington (Head Coach - Ron Enos) - The Eagles had the eighth seed in the D2 playoffs in 2022 and ran into the buzz saw that was Chariho. In 2023, they’ll look to get back to the playoffs dealing with the challenge of graduating six players from the varsity roster. Morgan Martin should be back to hold the Libero spot down while Kasey Dillion should be the top point scorer for the Eagles this time around. They’ll host the Lincoln Lions to start the season.
Mt. Saint Charles (Head Coach - Dan Gould) - The Mounties were the seventh seed last year for the 2022 playoffs and were able to steal a game from South Kingstown as the Rebels advanced to the finals. Gone is Amanda Pierce to graduation as well as longtime head coach Josh D’Abate, so the Mount side will look to Maya Solecki to take over the prime player role and Dan Gould to run the ship. Graduating seven, including your top attacker, is tough, plus MSC will be kinda young with only four seniors and the rest juniors and underclassmen. They draw the former D2 champs for their first match.
Bay View Academy (Head Coach - Vicky Anderson) - The defending Division Three champs move up to Division Two. Maggie McKitchen and five other seniors are on to the next stage, leaving behind a roster of five upcoming seniors, one junior, and three sophomores. Coach Vicky Anderson will look to mold the team quickly to deal with the new challenges of a division change…and St. Rays is the first hurdle.
Providence Country Day (Head Coach - Brad Clarkson) - The Knights went untouched in Division Four, especially in the playoffs. Clean sweeps everywhere. In 2023, they’re looking to run it back. Five seniors moved on due to graduation, including Ella LaFrenier. With only four returning seniors and a lot of youth, Coach Brad Clarkson will need to get cooking right away to get the Knights ready for another desired dominating journey.
Preseason Players to Watch…
Syd Henson - North Kingstown - Libero - Jr.
Ella Maack - North Kingstown - Setter - Sr.
Annie Draper - North Kingstown - Pin - Sr.
Tessa LaFrenier - North Kingstown - Pin - Jr.
Abby Crowley - La Salle - Setter - Jr.
Kaelyn Whitaker - La Salle - Pin - Sr.
Sofia D’Agostino - La Salle - Libero - Jr.
Sierra Thompson - South Kingstown - Middle - Sr.
Karmen Lambert - South Kingstown - Pin - Sr.
Mia Iemma - South Kingstown - Libero - Jr.
India Vaughn-Hallene - South Kingstown - Middle - Jr.
Abby Spadoni - Coventry - Pin - Sr.
Liv Rollinson - Coventry - Pin - Sr.
Addison Patrick - Coventry - Middle - Sr.
Caitlin Mediate - Portsmouth - Setter - Jr.
Hailey Labonte - Portsmouth - Pin - Jr.
Avery Pelletier - Portsmouth - Pin - Sr.
Lexi Cole - Chariho - Setter - Sr.
Katja Nelson - Chariho - Middle - Sr.
Jules White - Chariho - Pin - Sr.
Keira Mullen - East Providence - Pin - So.
Malia Mullen - East Providence - Middle - Sr.
Daniella Escudero - East Providence - Libero - Sr.
Brennah Abilheira-Cargill - Cumberland - Libero - Sr.
Grace Iannuzzi - Cumberland - Middle - Sr.
Harmony Forrest - Classical - Pin - Sr.
Deana Baez - Classical - Pin - Sr.
Gwen Delaney - Middletown - Pin - Sr.
Morgan Martin - Barrington - Libero - Jr.
Kasey Dillon - Barrington - Pin - Sr.
Maya Solecki - Mount Saint Charles - Pin - Jr.
Jett Cronin - The Prout School - L - Jr.
To send season updates, stories, and players to consider…or inquire about coffee beans that Coach roasts himself, to Coach Reslow - Scott.Reslow@protonmail.com
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