2023 RI Girls Volleyball Bracketology on Halloween…
10/31/23
Happy Halloween!
Predictions are always tough, and I’m a firm believer that calling games gives firepower for both teams. If I pick you to win, you’re confident (perhaps),…if I didn’t pick you to win, you have a chip on your shoulder to prove me wrong (and rightfully so).
So, with that in mind, these are my picks for the playoffs…they could be spectacularly correct or spectacularly wrong! Either way, it’ll be an exciting playoff season, as it always is, and I look forward to calling some of the final games on Championship Day at Rhode Island College.
Coach Reslow
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D4:
Quarters…
#1 Shea (Bye)
#4 Blackstone Valley Prep vs. #5 Davies
#3 Mt. Pleasant vs. #6 Hope
#2 Providence Country Day (Bye)
Semis…
#1 Shea vs. #4 Blackstone Valley at St. Rays.
#2 PCD vs. #6 Hope
Finals…
#1 Shea vs. #2 PCD at RIC = #2 PCD in four!
Commentary:
Division four feels a little like the wild west. Sure, Shea has been the Sherriff for most of the season, but PCD, The Valley, Mt. Pleasant, and even Hope HS, are looking to take down the law at Tombstone (RIC). Providence Country Day has the best chance in my opinion because they’re the top serving team in the tournament. PCD can generate aces like no other, and if they’re on, trouble is a comin. The Valley has range and can do work at the net. It’s expected that they’ll get by Davies, but hold the horses on that for a sec. Davies has some upsets to their name this season and surely won’t go down easy. Meanwhile, Mt. Pleasant has good vibes going currently despite some setbacks late in the campaign, however Hope is playing their best volleyball right now…which means that match could be a barn burner. I have Hope upsetting Mt. Pleasant and The Valley meeting Shea in the semis. From there, Shea can, and will, send The Valley to the clink and demand that order be restored in this here town. PCD will serve Hope into tough spots, with Hope eventually falling from their horse, setting up the Shea / PCD showdown. With it all on the line, PCD will quip…”Shea, I’m your Huckleberry” and get it done in four…walking with trophy in hand into the sunset.
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D3:
Quarters…
A1-Tiverton (Bye)
B2-Burrillville vs. A3-Juanita Sanchez
A2-Block Island vs. B3-Scituate
B1-Tolman vs. A4-Narragansett
Semis…
A1-Tiverton vs. B2-Burrillville at Mt. Hope
B1-Tolman vs. A2-Block Island at Mt. Hope
Finals…
B1-Tolman vs. B2-Burrillville at RIC = B1-Tolman in four!
Commentary:
Weirdness follows Division Three like hyenas follow lions. Unlike the other three divisions, D3 has a different playoff format and it’s forced their top team in the league to play a quarterfinal while the second overall team gets a bye… ”Hairless pets, weird…” Arguably my favorite line from Ghostbusters 2, and it is Halloween so… Ok, focus…I think Tolman will avenge their loss to Narragansett to meet a Block Island side that should get it done over a Scituate team that had a monster second half of the season. Taking the ferry to BI is tough, so Block Island gets the nod here. Meanwhile, I like Burrillville over Juanita Sanchez. It’s a close match, but I like Burrillville’s size at the net and I think hosting matters there as well. I also envision Burrillville going on a serious run and upsetting Tiverton to get to the finals! Meanwhile, Block Island’s adventure ends with Tolman, creating the Tolman vs. Burrillville final at RIC. Tolman should get it done in four and from there the madness ends…for a little bit anyway… Cue the Marshmallow Man…always felt like he should have made a comeback appearance in the second Ghostbusters movie!
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D2:
Quarters…
#1 East Providence (Bye)
#4 Barrington vs. #5 Middletown
#3 Cumberland vs. #6 Westerly
#2 Mt. Hope vs. #7 Bay View
Semis…
#1 East Providence vs. #4 Barrington at NKHS
#3 Cumberland vs. #2 Mt. Hope at NKHS
Finals…
#1 East Providence vs. #3 Cumberland at RIC = #1 East Providence in three!
Commentary:
Sticking with movie themes, Division Two has the feel of The Terminator. You can do whatever you can, but Arnold is still coming, and, in this case, East Providence has the title role. Anything can happen on a Saturday, on a college campus, in the middle of the day, though…but getting to that point is the challenge. Mt. Hope will probably see Bay View and that isn’t an easy lift for the second seeded team. Bay View has weapons and a solid conductor, so the Huskies are in for a match. Meanwhile, Westerly survived EWG and their reward is to go to Cumberland. The Clippers will probably make a couple more plays then the exhausted Bulldogs to advance. On the other side of the bracket, Barrington hosts Middletown. The Eagles are extremely dangerous as the team is built well and have put it all together late in the season. Middletown is no slouch either, so this one may be the best match of the playoff for D2. In my mind, Barrington gets it done and gets to see EP. The Townies are loaded and though they may get pushed a little by Barrington, I think they find the other side. Cumberland and Mt. Hope could be a classic as well, however, I think this time the Clips rise to the occasion and punch their ticket to the finals. In the end game, East Providence should frustrate the Clippers enough to sneak out three sets in a row and secure the gold (Skynet wins!)…but if we’re following the movie, well, then it ends a little differently… That’s why they play the games, a wise man once said.
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D1:
Quarters…
#1 North Kingstown vs. #8 Classical
#4 Portsmouth vs. #5 La Salle Academy
#3 Coventry vs. #6 South Kingstown
#2 Chariho vs. #7 East Greenwich
Semis…
#1 North Kingstown vs. #4 Portsmouth at RIC
#2 Chariho vs. #6 South Kingstown at RIC
Finals…
#1 North Kingstown vs. #2 Chariho at RIC = #1 North Kingstown in three!
Commentary:
Saving this commentary for last, all that is running through my head is the line, “Well, who are you?” "We’re the Monster Squad!” The Monster Squad is an eighties movie that I loved as a kid. It’s about a town that gets overrun with monsters from the movies (Dracula, The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc) and the adults disregard it to their peril because, how could these monsters be actually real? Only a group of kids, who call themselves The Monster Squad, take it seriously and they heroically save the day. Why does this come to mind? Well, I think Chariho is the Monster Squad. The D2 team that came to D1 and seemingly were the underdogs in every match they played. Each match…well, this will be the time that Chariho comes back down to earth, and it never really happened. Sure they had some loses, but in the end, they nabbed the second seed and I see them in the final.
Continuing this theme, NK is absolutely Dracula, Coventry is the Mummy, Portsmouth is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, La Salle is the Werewolf, South Kingstown is Frankenstein’s monster, while East Greenwich and Classical are vampires. All of the monsters are powerful and can do damage, but one by one they eventually fall.
North Kingstown will slide by Classical, though the Purple will put in a good showing. Chariho will overwhelm East Greenwich. From there you have Frankenstein’s monster versus The Mummy…I mean SK at Coventry. I think South Kingstown pulls off the upset to see The Monster Squad in the semis. On the other side of town, La Salle has to travel to the Haunted Gymnasium to do battle with Portsmouth…Werewolf vs. The Creature. Though the Werewolf has the pieces to get it done, the Creature’s lair has too many pitfalls and Portsmouth moves on. Dracula is the most powerful entity on the board and should maneuver a win over the Creature, who can struggle out of water, in the semifinals. Meanwhile, the Monster Squad gets the “W” over Frankenstein’s monster as it’s a needed confidence booster and simultaneously, a demon to excise from one of their only three losses.
Dracula vs. The Monster Squad…even in the movie I always thought Drac should have triumphed. I mean, if it wasn’t for Frankenstein’s monster, he would have. Anyway, to me, North Kingstown just has too much firepower at their disposal and will take down Chariho in three sets. The odds will be against the Chargers and things will look bleak…just like the movie, so maybe…
Cue the music and credits!
