Final Fours are Set…It’s Showtime, Everyone Go Time…
6/4/23
The Final Fours are here! Let’s talk about the upcoming matches…
Division One:
North Kingstown (#1) hosting Chariho (#4) - 6/6/23 at NKHS at 6pm - The Skippers dispatched a feisty Bishop Hendricken side to hold form and continue their march. On Tuesday, they host a Chargers squad that surgically put down the Avengers at the cave. Matt Tiernan’s 26 kills and 14 digs to get past a talented EG side is notable. He’ll need, however, a lot more to get past the defending champs. Good bet Tiernan will get his, but can Travis Plante and Ben Christensen subdue the two headed middle monster of Jared Samson and Quinlan Fahy? Another matchup to watch is the play on the right with Chariho’s Michael Perry vs. North Kingstown’s Ryan Murphy (It was brought to my attention that Mr. Perry is out and Quinn Sposato will be on the right for the Chargers). The Charger’s have the top libero in James Azzinaro but the Skippers have the top OH2 in Ryan Harrington. As with all matches with a trip to the finals on the table, errors and key kills or blocks will decide this one, and don’t discount that home court cooking at the Forge sure to cause some discomfort as well.
Coach Reslow’s pick - NK in four. Tiernan will go for 30, but the middles for NK will set the tone and the combo of Tow and Harrington will be too much to handle.
La Salle Academy (#2) hosting Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield (#3) - 6/7/23 at La Salle Academy at 6pm - The Rams took care of Cranston East in three, but didn’t play clean out the gate. By the end of the match, however, La Salle overwhelmed and Jack Johnson’s 18 kills sealed the match. Johnson is the hammer, and Nick Lisi is the glue giving the Rams a one two on the left that is formidable. Meanwhile, Mount Saint Smithfield…North Saint Charles…The Hybrid… The Hybrid handed Classical a three set defeat in their quarterfinal match. Caden Sullivan’s 34 assists and 3 kills orchestrated the Purple’s downfall.
Sporting a middle tandem of Tom Matchett and Alvendz Viera Dones, ultimate ball control guys of Connor DeSousa and Ben Sousa, a strong right side threat in Azariah Chauvin…all with Sullivan calling the shots, this Hybrid team is arguably the most complete team in the state. La Salle will have the site and the top middle in the state, Ephraim Abhulime along with a team blocking ability that causes issues for everyone.
Coach Reslow’s pick - MSC / NS in five. Last time these two teams saw each other, it was a five set war and this match will be no different. This one has the potential to be the top game of the tournament in all divisions. Don’t miss this one. Matchett will get 15, Sousa will be north of 20 digs, and too many errors will doom the Rams.
D1 Finals - On a Saturday afternoon, on a neutral court, at a college campus, North Kingstown and MSC / NS will do battle. NK is young on the pins, big in the middle, and have the steady hand of Tyler Yang running the show. The Hybrid has the top setter in the state, some big middles of their own and the ability to extend rallies. Both coaches are solid and have had Coach of the Year seasons. At the end of the day, NK should get it’s threepeat. The Skippers won’t make as many errors this time around and the Hybrid doesn’t have the fire power on the pins to make NK pay for blocking deficiencies. Should be another solid match, but NK in four.
Division Two:
Barrington (#1) hosting Lincoln (#4) - 6/7/23 at Barrington HS at 6pm - Maddox Godwin, Cam Kelley, Luke Van Ness and Company enjoyed their bye and now it’s time to work…and boy do they have a chore in front of them. The good news is they host the Lions at the nest in Barrington. The bad news is the Lions are hungry and have been feasting on D2 talent since the midway point of the season. Wayne McNamara is real on the left and Tyler Dickinson is huge in the middle. The Lions have been the team to avoid…and there isn’t much Barrington can do about it now. Go time is here and Godwin, Kelley, Van Ness and crew will have to bring their “A” game to boot the Lions out of the playoffs. Assuming Kelley is ready to roll from injury, they probably have the pieces to do just that. Something about the Lions, though…
Coach Reslow’s pick - The last time these teams met, Barrington got it done, but in five sets. I’ve also been on record that Lincoln is my long odds team to make it to the final dance. Sticking with it…Lions in 5. Barrington will have to give Lincoln some errors, more then usual even, however McNamara will get 15 plus kills with Dickinson getting 6 blocks in big moments.
Cranston West (#2) hosting Central (#6) - 6'/6/23 at Cranston West at 6:30pm - The Falcons do not get their anticipated match with Westerly as the Knights pulled the upset. Couldn’t find stats on this five set thriller, but no doubt the Knights were led by Jet Nascimento who does everything but take tickets for the Knights. Pulling the upset on the Bulldogs is pretty special as Westerly had been in the mix all year…but do the Knights have enough magic to take down the Falcons? The CW, assuming all are healthy, should pose a threat that not even Jet can diffuse. The main issue going into this one for Central is that the offense for Cranston West comes from all over and thus it’s hard to pinpoint and set the block. The strategy will have to be to serve tough enough where Cranston West is unable to run Harvey in the middle and forget about Mak on the right. Easier said then done, but that’s got to be the play.
Coach Reslow’s pick - The Cinderella ride for Central ends at the Falcon’s nest. Jet will get 15 kills, but the balanced attack of Cranston West should be enough for the Falcons to get it done in 4.
D2 Finals: On a Saturday afternoon, on a neutral court, at a college campus…maybe morning…anyway, could feature Cranston West and Lincoln. Lincoln will be the heavy underdog and it would take an incredible game from McNamara for the Lions to have a chance…but a chance is all Lincoln needs. Lincoln in the upset of upsets in five ridiculous sets. It’ll be a fun one!
Division Three:
Johnston (#1) hosting Woonsocket (#4) - 6/6/23 at Johnston at TBD - The Panthers welcome the Villa Novans to the lair, one of only three teams physical enough in D3 to cause an issue for them. The Panthers will look to flex their power in the middle and take apart Woonsocket with tough serving. If the Villa Novans can handle the steam from the service line, the next decision will be to figure out where to use Devin Merrill. Should Merrill run the offense as the setter, or should he be the point of the spear as an attacker? Will it be enough to stop Yandel Gonzalez? Errors will be the key to everything for both teams, and Woonsocket played really clean vs. St. Rays…
Coach Reslow’s pick - Yandel is the premier player in D3 and it’s just going to be too much for the Novans to overcome. Johnston in 4.
Tolman / Shea (#2) hosting Juanita Sanchez (#3) - 6/7/23 at Tolman at 6pm - The Pawtucket Tigers did the job, as did Juanita Sanchez, and now to the semis. The last time these two teams saw each other, Tolman took down JS in a solid three, but the this isn’t the last week of the regular season and everything is magnified. The trio for the Tigers of setter Dom Carpentieri and attackers Dembo Konte and Helmer Ramos should paint the picture here. Juanita Sanchez has pieces to the puzzle and should be able to cause issues along the way. The key for JS is first contact. If they pass the ball well, Tolman will be in for a long contest. Coach Bozzer has done a nice job getting his first year team to the playoffs and would love to got a step further.
Coach Reslow’s pick - Tolman gets it done in 4. Konte will get 12 and Ramos 10 as the Tigers give up set one but take the next three.
D3 Finals: On a Saturday…blah blah blah…you know the spiel by now. Johnston and Tolman will give it a go. With the Tigers the only thing left to stop the Panthers from steamrolling D3, there will be a lot of pressure for them. In the end, Yandel is too much for the Tigers, and the D3 world, with Johnston getting the three-set sweep.
Note: Coach Reslow will not be available to broadcast for the NFHS coverage of the RIIIL boys volleyball finals for all three divisions as he’ll be in Washington. You will be able to tune in live to the ResV YouTube channel and watch his live commentating on the matches, with special guests, as the matches are going down! More info to come soon!
***Also, do not forget to mark down on your calendar the ResV All-Star matches on June 17th. Girls match is at 10am (9am warm-ups) and Boys match is at 2pm (1pm warm-ups)! There is talk of a beat Jack Pincince bounce contest for all volleyball spectators between set 1 and 2 of the boys game, and an ace Jack Pincince for all volleyball spectators between the first two sets at the girls game… Would be interesting, yeah? Hope to see everyone there!***
Week 9 Rankings…
Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield
North Kingstown
La Salle Academy
Chariho
Barrington
Cranston West
East Greenwich
Classical
Lincoln [↑ 1]
Central [↑ 3]
East Providence
Westerly [↓ 3]
Cranston East [↓ 1]
Johnston
Tolman / Shea
Getting Votes… Hendricken, Juanita Sanchez, St. Raphael’s, Woonsocket, Central Falls
Summer Volleyball Camps are up and you can find them on the 2023 Camps and Clinics Page here… See Coach Sullivan’s Camp below! For more information and registration links click here…
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To send season updates, stories, stats, and players to consider, email Coach Reslow at Scott.Reslow@protonmail.com.