Round 3 - Adversity has Come…
4/23/23
Adversity can be a tornado that pops up out of the blue or a reaper that comes for all of the positives and locks them away. Adversity comes for us all and it’s how you handle it that often defines your success going forward. Teams throughout the RIIL are seeing adversity, especially this week. Whether it be injuries, consistency of play, or just a tough night where everything seems to go wrong, the adversity specter is making it’s mark. Teams are battling and the results are coming in…
One team that has seen a whole bunch of adversity early on is Cranston East. The Bolts lost their top pin, Jethro Vargas, to a freak injury in warm-ups and it changed everything that the team was doing in an instant. From there, Cranston East would take four consecutive losses on the chin as Coach Jhamal Diggs and company would look to revamp the plan of attack and try to find some continuity. Week three became the breakthrough point as the Bolts would dispatch South Kingstown and Hendricken in three sets, and then upset North Kingstown in five. Charles Pincince (21 kills against NK) has been crucial in the turn around along with the setting from Caleb Xum (44 assists). Larry Yin (14 digs) sured up the Libero position while Jackson Rennick (14 kills) has turned the corner in the middle. They’re not the only team facing adversity right now…almost every team has some sort of issue they’re battling…however the Bolts have fought back into the playoff conversation through grit and determination. Who knows what might happen should Vargas be able to retake the floor in health…
ResV Player of the Week (3) - Jet Nascimento (Central) - Nascimento’s squad had a three-win week where he was featured prominently throughout. He capped off the period with a win over West Warwick where he posted 14 kills, 6 blocks, 4 aces, and 16 digs on the night.
[↑ 1] La Salle Academy (6 -1) - The Rams had themselves a tough week, but came out with three wins regardless. Tested by almost every team they saw, La Salle was able to take down Coventry and Classical in four sets and then manage a sweep of the Hybrid to finish. As Ali Abur-Razzak becomes more and more comfortable at the setter spot, the stronger the Ram offense will be. Jack Johnson is hammering shots home, Nick Lisi is the glue that holds it all together, and Connor Lewis is becoming a problem on the right…not to mention once Ali starts connecting with Ephraim Abulime… Could be lights out at that point. Chariho on the road and Cranston East at home is next week’s lineup.
[↓ 1] North Kingstown (6 - 1) - Losing Ryan Harrington to injury in the Hybrid match was as unfortunate as they come. The Skippers were able to still battle to get a five-set victory over the North Mountie Men with huge games from Cody Tow and Jared Samson. The same duo would do it again a couple of nights later as they subdued the 20 plus kill per night Matt Tiernan of Chariho, holding him to only 12 and a three-set win. However, the weight of having both Harrington and Ryan Murphy down finally became too much as the Skippers took their first defeat on the road against Cranston East. They have to shake it off quickly as next week they travel to the Avenger’s castle and take on an EG team that is hungry to take down a top team. Quick shout out to Tyler Yang getting his 1000th assist of his career!
Chariho (5 - 2) - The Chargers galloped into week three with two wins and a loss at the hands of the Skippers. Matt Tiernan continues to be the lead attacker for the team, as well as the entire league, while middles Travis Plante and Ben Christensen are coming into their own. Michael Perry is bringing power to an already potent Chariho attack as well. Though James Azzinaro has yet to really find the court consistently, the solid libero will bring another aspect to the Chargers game when’s he’s comfortably in the lineup. The real question will be can this Chariho squad serve tough enough to get teams like North Kingstown and La Salle out of system enough in the future. We’ll find out soon, as the Rams are next.
[↑ 1] East Greenwich (5 - 2) - The Avengers had themselves a good week. Three up, three down. The emergence of Michael Dobrzanski on the pin has shot a breath of fresh air into the offense, giving Max Silverman another weapon to send the ball to in tough situations. Brayden Stanger is still the go to, but limiting his swings may be important, especially as his arm will be crucial come playoff time. Another move that has paid instant dividends…moving Spencer Warburton to the libero spot. Warburton has solid control and provides a steady hand in that position. All good things this week for the Avs! The Skippers are next on the schedule, however, and they can certainly take the good vibes from you.
[↑ 1] Cranston West (7 - 0) - The Falcons took complete control of the Division 2 landscape by going up to Barrington and winning with ease in the Eagle’s barn. Aiden Hay and company were able to hold the Eagles to under 20 points in all three sets sending a message that all championship ideas in the division have to come through the CW. The Falcons have attackers at every position with Christian Mak on the right, Chris Harvey in the middle and Lucian Spremullo and Dimitri Leblanc on the left. They serve tough, block well, and don’t give you many free ones. There is plenty of season left for Division 2 to catch up, but right now, the Falcons hold all the cards.
[↓ 2] Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield (3 - 4) - Tough week for the North Mountie Men as the injury reaper continues to demand payment and the losses start to pile up. Thomas Matchett took an honest shot off a Logan Voelker swing that rattled the cage in the win over Coventry. Meanwhile, Connor DeSousa is still down, rehabbing his lower extremity injury. With a two loss week, and Classical plus Chariho next on the docket, the hybrid needs both guys in good health to complement their setter (Caden Sullivan) and all out libero (Ben Sousa) as well as others. If this squad can put their full array of players on the floor, they’re in contention, but as with most things…easier said than done.
[↑ 4] Cranston East (3 - 4) - The Bolts were on life support going into the week dropping their first four and looking down the barrel of a schedule that could be the make-or-break moment. CE rallied and put together a three match sweep…stifling South Kingstown on the road, hammering Hendricken at home, and then upsetting the top seed (North Kingstown) in five sets. There are a lot of story lines for them this week, however the most interesting is Caleb Xum. Xum took over the setting duties shortly after the first week and has been able to turn the offense around. Charles Pincince is getting decent swings, the middles look pretty solid, and Xum is doing a nice job finding the hot hand. Not bad for a player that hasn’t truly set before…or at least that’s the rumor. Coventry, La Salle, and Cranston West up next!
[↑ 2] Classical (5 - 3) - The Purple have something cooking! James Men is the real deal at the setter position and provides plenty of good balls to swing at for his attackers. Teddy Wallace is the leading arm, but he’s been pushed by Alpha Barry and Archer Lesser, two seniors who have solid arms and are breaking through blocks. The Purple are also doing some unconventional things that are causing headaches for the opposition. Won’t say much more than that, but the main one rhymes with hide and if you’re the opposition, you better learn to slow it down because Classical ain’t messing around. Scaring La Salle and East Greenwich is all fine, but the Purple need a signature win soon…perhaps the Hybrid is just the item on the menu they’ve been waiting for.
[↓ 1] Barrington (5 - 1) - Well, the Eagles knew the week was going to be an interesting one. Hosting two potential playoff teams they might see, Barrington was able to get the first one. Westerly pushed, but the Eagles would not be moved. However, the buzzsaw came to town next and the Eagles fell is straight sets. Not the result they were looking for to say the least. Good news is they’ve seen the top team and tasted the level. Now, it’s all about crafting your strategy to beat the CW. East Providence and Pilgrim are next on the schedule, and both have a decent puzzle to solve…but that Cranston West team will, or at least should, stay on the mind until May 18th. Lots of work to do!
[↓ 3] Westerly (5 - 2) - The Bulldogs had one match this week and it was the biggest match to date for them in the season. They went to Barrington’s barn and dropped a three setter that was not so good. They also lost their top player in Jack Kenyon due to an injury. Bulldogs are not a fan of Week threes. So, how long the big guy is out is going to be the key question. It also means that Westerly will need to find offense from other places, at least in the short term. The schedule doesn’t help either, as Cranston West is next followed by a game Pilgrim side. Was it mentioned that Bulldogs do not like Week Threes?
[↑ 2] Central (5 - 2) - So, do you know who Jet Nascimento is? If you do not, let’s get you introduced. Jet is a 6’6 Middle / Pin who is doing absolute work for the Central Knights. 14 kills, 16 digs, 6 blocks, 4 aces here…18 kills, 16 digs, 8 blocks, 2 aces there…He was able to cause some headaches for Cranston West, and the Knights already have wins over Pilgrim, East Providence, and Westerly. So in a D2 race that requires a big arm who can put up numbers, the Knights have theirs in Nascimento. Questions now becomes, can Central polish their corners enough to get by Barrington or Cranston West? Time will tell, but if Nascimento has anything to say about it…well, he’ll darn sure fill up your stat card on him at the very least.
East Providence (5 - 3) - In week three, East Providence gets the “Played Most Sets” award as they dropped a four-set decision to Central, by 13 points total, then won back-to-back five-set thrillers against West Warwick and Lincoln respectfully. The switch of moving DJ Lepine to the pin has been key and he’s now doing his best Matt Tiernan impersonation for the Townies. Lepine can ball, is a very tough competitor, and can will his side to victories. Barrington and Toll Gate are up next, and you have to think that Lepine will need to get 40 swings for the Townies to upend Barrington. Having the Eagles at home certainly helps.
[↓ 4] Hendricken (1 - 5) - Well, the Hawks have seen better days to be sure. Coach Harrington knew the first half of the season would be a tough one…and at the very least he’s getting plenty of tape to study for the second half. Brian Garrepy returned to the lineup after a broken foot and has provided both setting and attacking immediately but will still need another week to get up to speed. Ben Warr has also been moved into the same role as Garrepy as the Hawks are now running the traditional 6/2. Cooper Wier is still a top libero in the state, but has been asked to play left often out of necessity. Devin Lynch continues to figure it out, as a first year OH1 is always a little tricky to learn. We’ll see if the Hawks can turn it around and if they have any surprises left…especially in the second half of the season.
[New} Johnston (4 - 0) - The Panthers enter the big board from the Division 3 world after taking care of business against North Providence as well as Mount Pleasant. Johnston has yet to lose a set and are setting the table for weeks six / seven when they see in succession, Woonsocket, St. Raphael’s and Central Falls. That stretch will probably decide the seeding for the D3 playoffs and certainly tell the tale of where Johnston belongs in the whole schematic. The Panthers have some pop in the middle and they serve pretty tough. They do get tested next week when they’re on the road against Exeter West Greenwich…another undefeated club.
(New] Central Falls (3 - 0) - The Warrior crack the top 15 with wins over Mt. Hope, Burrillville, and Portsmouth in the D3 world. Time will tell if Central Falls can hold a spot on the list as their schedule is brutal for them in the second half of the season. Their last three matches are against Johnston, Woonsocket, and St. Raphael’s…all playoff teams that have the ability to make a run at it. Throw in Exter West Greenwich and Tolman / Shea and you have yourself a very tough second half of the season. Week four will bring Juanita Sanchez, North Providence, and Time 2 to the deck and from there we’ll learn a lot more.
Getting Votes… St. Raphaels, Tolman / Shea, Exeter West Greenwich, Coventry, South Kingstown
ResV Player of the week…
Week 1 - Matt Tiernan (Chariho)
Week 2 - Brayden Stanger (East Greenwich)
Week 3 - Jet Nascimento (Central)
Playoff Races through Week Three …
Division 1 -
LaSalle - Sole loss to NK and they’re chomping at the bit to avenge that one.
North Kingstown - Fell to CE in five and have been nipped by the injury bug. Need to get healthy.
Chariho - They can score and serve. Solid ball control. Blocking is a concern as is their O1’s shoulder.
East Greenwich - Have most of the pieces to the puzzle and arguably the most talented setter of the group.
Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield - Also plagued by injuries. When healthy should be in the mix…just haven’t seen them healthy yet.
Division 2 -
Cranston West - The most complete team in D2 and it’s not close at the moment.
Barrington - Have two pins that are legit, but can they pass well enough to get them the ball 30 times each?
Central - The big OH / Middle can do work and win many games by himself.
Westerly - Also have a big middle that does most of the heavy lifting.
East Providence - OH 1 is dynamic and a fierce competitor. Do they have enough ball control to make a serious run?
Division 3 -
Johnston - Lefty middle has an arm that cause all sorts of problems for opponents. Serve tough as well.
Central Falls - Biggest win is over Burrillville to this point. Second half of the season will tell the tale.
St. Raphael’s - They have a monster in the middle that has helped dispatch three teams already.
Exeter-West Greenwich - Pin level has improved and they can make some things happen in transition.
Tolman / Shea - Setter is solid and they are pushing everyone they see including D2 teams.
To send season updates, stories, stats, and players to consider, email Coach Reslow at Scott.Reslow@protonmail.com. You can also send me stats and stories as they happen, or shortly after, by messaging me on Messenger @ResV Systems. Stats are crucial and help make the case for rankings so always feel free to send them to me.
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