Chargers Surge in Week Four as Rams, Skippers, and Hawks take Arrows…
May 1st, 2022
North Kingstown had already suffered a five set stunner at the hands of Hendricken, so when La Salle came a calling at the beginning of the week, the Skippers were already reeling. La Salle wasted little time and put pressure on NK from the starting whistle. Brendan Pendergast’s ball control was key, while Nick Lisi led the way in kills. However, it was the blocking of Jack Johnson and Greg Bosquet that finished the job for the Rams giving the Skippers their second straight defeat.
Then, it was Chariho’s turn. The Rams came to Charger’s barn with lots of confidence fresh off of the NK victory…they left wondering what happened. Matt Tiernan had the ball in a good location for his attackers all night, while Mike Perry came alive on the right giving the Chargers some added pop. Throw in Matt Beaudry hitting a .583, Tyler White terminating against triple blocks, and a solid game plan…the stunned Rams could only take their first loss and begin prepping for the next time…which is right over the horizon.
La Salle (8 - 1) - The highs and lows of a campaign can sometimes be in a single week. La Salle had taken care of business all season with an eye toward their matchup with the defending champs. Once there, they did the job and let NK know about it. However, they then traveled to Chariho where the Chargers had something waiting for them. Suffering their first defeat, the Rams will have to recover quick as week five has lots of potential pitfalls in EG, Hendricken, and Chariho.
Chariho (6 - 2) - A very good week for the Chargers as they clip Classical and then take down previously undefeated La Salle. Tyler White is leading the league in kills with 199 and averaging 5.5 kills per set, also tops. The Chargers also feature the top hitting percentage player in Matt Beaudry. The big middle is hitting .531 on the season while also averaging .8 blocks per set. Matt Tiernan is averaging 8.8 assists per set and is continuing to improve his ball placement allowing the Charger attackers to tee off often.
Hendricken (6 - 3) - Hawks split on the week, which wasn’t exactly the plan after upending North Kingstown the week prior. Taking down Coventry in four sets early in the week, the five set upset at Cranston East was the eye opener. Brian Garrepy Jr. amassed 40, or so, assists to go along with ten kills in the defeat, while Evan Dion continues to be a problem for most opponents. With La Salle coming to Warwick in week five, the Hawks will once again look to be the puzzle buster.
North Kingstown (6 - 2) - The La Salle defeat hurt as it was at home and it felt like a top team show down, though the loss prior to Hendricken negated some of that. Regardless, the Skippers came out and earned a tough three set sweep over Coventry. Mason Andrade is averaging 4.2 kills per set at the halfway point, while teammate Cam Alexander is getting 3.1 kills per set. With three matches in week five, the Skippers will look to claim them all to position themselves to get back on top of the hill.
Cranston East (5 - 3) - The Thunderbolts have put a three game streak together, with their most recent victory being a big one. In a five set thriller, CE toppled a Hendricken crew that was riding high off a week where they upended NK. Jordan Bou switched from libero to left side attacker in sets four and five and the high flyer did not disappoint. Week five will test Bou’s physicality as dates with Chariho and North Kingstown will see how far the Thunderbolts have progressed.
East Greenwich (4 - 4) - Another week, another split for the Avengers. Taking a four set loss to Cranston East on the chin, the Avengers rebounded and hosted a four set victory of South Kingstown later on in the week. Brayden Stanger is hitting .296 and averaging 3.8 kills per set, while Max Silverman is averaging 7.3 assists per set nearly halfway through the season. One has to think at some point the Avengers will need to string a couple of victories together to make a real run.
Cranston West (4 - 6) - The Falcons continued their difficult season as they were without their starting setter, Aidan Hay in week four. Through all four weeks of the season, Cranston West has yet to put their projected starting six on the floor. Chris Buonaccorsi has begun to round into shape, limiting errors, and leading the Falcons to solid, if not, survival play on the week. It’ll be interesting to see if week five is the week where the Falcons have all their pieces on the board.
Coventry (3 - 6) - The Oakers are in the midst of one of their toughest seasons in quite some time. Injuries and issues have plagued Coventry throughout the 22 campaign and week four, unfortunately, was no different. Taking two losses on the week, to Hendricken and North Kingstown, the insult to injury was losing Grant Ramsey to a ankle sprain when battling the Skippers. With Cranston West and East Greenwich on the schedule for week five, the Oakers will look to get big efforts from Logan Voelker and Chase Bagley to get something going.
MSC / NS (7 - 0) - The North Mountie Men continue to run the table in division two. Though some controversy appears to be on the horizon as there are some concerns about their home gym protocols at Mount Saint Charles. Otherwise, a nice win against Westerly keeps the Hybrid in the driver’s seat as they see another three match week on the horizon. Ben Sousa is playing well at the libero position.
East Providence (7 - 2) - Putting three wins on the board in week four was absolutely what the doctor ordered for the Townies after a very tough week three. East Providence is playing decent ball and were really the only team to push the Hybrid at the top of the D-2 ladder. With Grant Wosencroft generating offense in the middle, EP will look to go perfect in week five regardless of the big matchup with, newly on the board, Barrington.
Pilgrim (6 -2) - Pilgrim had it’s toughest week in the season with back to back losses in week four. The Hybrid took them down on the road, then the Patriots hosted Westerly and dropped a four set match that surprised. With three matches on deck for the Patriots in week five, clearly a clean sweep would get them back in the race for another shot at the Hybrid and the top of D-2.
Westerly (5 -3) - Things were looking grim for Westerly coming out of week three. Dropping two matches and then knowing the Hybrid and Pilgrim were on the docket, the Bulldogs needed to come up with a win somewhere to keep on track. Though dropping the match to MSC / NS, the Bulldogs got a desperate win against Pilgrim. That “W” rights the ship at an early crucial time in the season. Week five will be telling, however, as the early match with Barrington will be another big moment.
Barrington (5 - 3) - Barrington enters the board for the first time replacing West Warwick. Led by Cameron Kelley, The Eagles have steadily put together a resume that was enough to bounce the Wizards. They’ve also beat West Warwick in their first meeting, while also dispatching a very game Woonsocket club as well. Week five will be challenging, however, as the Eagles see Westerly and East Providence.
Lincoln (8 - 0) - The Lions remain undefeated and look forward to a tough match up with St. Rays in week five. With everyone now gunning for the Lions, it’ll be interesting to see if Lincoln can hold the line while continuing to improve.
Johnston (7 - 1) - Johnston returns to the board after defeating St. Rays is straight sets. The Panthers see Central and Burrillville in week five and would look to maintain status quo until Lincoln is back in the sights.