Round 1 - Injuries Infect RIIL Boy’s Volleyball Start
4/9/23
Happy Easter and Welcome to the Season!
Let’s start with the topic of injuries. Injuries at the start of campaign are frustrating, but also the best time to have them. There is nothing more devastating then a late season injury to a key cog in the machine right before the playoffs. Plenty of teams are going through the injury bug early, and though frustrating, does allow for a recovery should they stay positive and keep grinding. Early injuries also provide the unassuming positive that is allowing players to step up on the roster and improve themselves, thus making the team deeper upon the players return. Regardless of the start, the goal is to be playing your best volleyball by the end which hopefully will include all those on the IR to start.
Key players missing from D1 teams to start the season… Ryan Murphy (NK) - Collar Bone
Connor De'Sousa (MSC/NS) - Ankle
Brian Garrepy (Hen.) - Foot
Jethro Vargas (CE) - Knee
Other notable missing players to start…
Logan Voelker (Cov.)
James Azzinaro (Chariho)
ResV Player of the Week (1) - Matt Tiernan (Chariho) - 47 kills, hitting .316, with 5 aces.
La Salle Academy (2 - 0) - The Rams come in as the favorite as they have size and skill at the key positions. With two, three set wins to start, eyes will be to whenever they play North Kingstown...how bout next week! East Greenwich pushed back a little, but like South Kingstown, they succumbed in three. Jack Johnson put up 14 kills on the Avengers and Ephraim Abhulime controlled the net, while Nick Lisi is hitting .444 on the pin through two matches. With Hendricken and said Skippers next week, we’ll see where La Salle stands early.
North Kingstown (2 - 0) - The Skippers have a new cast of characters and many of them are pretty young. Regardless, Tyler Yang and crew were able to get two wins in week one and look pretty good going into week two. Ryan Harrington amassed 14 kills against Hendricken and another 10 on Classical. Cody Tow has hit 11 kills twice, and Jared Samson looks to be battling Ephraim Abhulime for top middle in the state. The Oakers visit this week followed by the premier match-up with the Rams on deck.
[↑ 3] East Greenwich (1 - 1) - The Avengers opened up the first week on the road against last year’s DII champions and instantly found themselves in a shootout. After five sets of volleyball, EG had the win and Max Silverman had tallied 30 assists, 11 digs, 4 kills, and 3 aces. Seeing La Salle next, EG fell in three, but scores of 22, 18, and 24 showed the Avengers are not a team to mess around with. Look for Brayden Stanger to round into form each week he gets further away from a preseason injury.
[↑ 1] Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield (1 - 2) - The Hybrid entered the D1 ring and immediately found themselves in a five-set thriller with East Greenwich. Losing 16 - 14 in the 5th hurt, but not having Connor DeSousa due to injury hurts even more. Certainly, when DeSousa returns to the line-up, the North Mountie Men will have the weapons needed to cause issues for almost everyone. Defensively, they can ball, and Caden Sullivan is a big setter who finds his attackers well. They see South Kingstown and Hendricken next as they wait for DeSousa to heal.
[↓ 1] Chariho (1 - 1) - The Chargers have decided to go a different direction and take the top setter in the state and turn him into an outside hitter. Matt Tiernan, who has started at the setter position for at least three years on every team he’s played for, now finds himself the focal point of the offense. He’s doing pretty well. Currently, he leads the state in kills (47), is hitting .313, and has his team at .500. Putting up 20 kills on Classical in a five-set defeat and then turning around and putting up 27 kills on Cranston East in a five set win is solid work. The concern will be can Tiernan’s arm, and shoulder, hold up to that type of swing output, considering he’s not had to take that many swings in a season before.
[↓ 3] Cranston East (0 - 2) - The Bolts are reeling after the sudden injury to their top pin, and senior captain, Jethro Vargas. Freak accident to be sure, and there is hope he can return this season, but Cranston East has struggled since. The Easter weekend will give the Bolts time to regroup and hopefully right the ship (or at least stop it from leaking water). Look for Charles Pincince and Jackson Rennick to get the rock as often as possible until Vargas’ return. Dropping to the Hybrid and Chariho is a tough start to the campaign, and it doesn’t get any easier with Classical and East Greenwich on the horizon.
[↑ 1] Bishop Hendricken (1 - 2) - The Hawks get a split in week one with a deciding victory over a bewildered Coventry side and then dropping a pretty tough match against the defending champs of North Kingstown. All in all, Coach Harrington has to be happy with the week as he’s missing top setter Brian Garrepy and lost Matt Brock, one of their top kill getters from last year. Devin Lynch will fill Brock’s role and currently Ben Warr is handling the setting duties till Garrepy returns. Week two is tough one, though, as La Salle comes to town and then the bus ride to the Hybrid follows.
[↑ 1] Cranston West (2 - 0) - The Falcons drop down to D2 and immediately announce their presence with authority. Nuke Laloosh jokes aside, Cranston West starts the year with two three-set victories over Pilgrim and East Providence respectively. Christian Mak is leading the way for the Falcons with 24 kills and Chris Harvey is also getting it done with 12 kills. Both are hitting north of .300 and will continue to cause issues for all of D2. Already there is a feeling that CW and this Barrington team may be in a two team race for the top.
[↑ 3] Barrington (3 - 0) - The Eagles have landed…and they look pretty tough. With two D2 wins under their belt to start the season, they’ve yet to drop a set. Cameron Kelley and Maddox Godwin are taking turns on thumping the ball. Against Central, Kelley went off for 11 kills hitting a .500 on the match. Against West Warwick, Godwin put together a 14 kill performance hitting a .400. Heaven help whomever they play if both Kelley and Godwin have themselves a night at the same time! Week two will test the duo as they have Lincoln and Westerly ready to apply a post Easter hangover.
[↓ 3] Coventry (0 - 2) - Not having Logan Voelker for the start of the season hurts as the Oakers find themselves young and without enough pop offensively to hang in week one. With loses to Hendricken and South Kingstown, Coventry is in trouble. Noah Gaudreau cannot do it all himself in the middle, and until Voelker gets onto the court, the Oakers will continue to take their lumps. Week two comes in blaring as the Skippers host and then Classical comes to visit.
Westerly (2 - 1) - The Bulldogs are sort of considered in a rebuild type mold, but you wouldn’t think it with the start of their season. Getting a three-set win over East Providence was big. However, the five-set defeat from Central was a little surprising and does show the rebuilding paint. Jack Kenyon has been the fuel for the offense putting up some strong numbers, see 22 kills vs. Central. They key will be can the Bulldogs play a consistent brand of volleyball from match to match. If so, they’ll be a problem for the league.
[↓ 2] East Providence (2 - 2) - The Townies played the first match of the 2023 season and stunned the Hybrid (Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield) in five sets. EP then started of the week with a strong four-set victory over a very game St. Raphael’s club. From there, in a three-match week, the Townies dropped six sets, three to Westerly and three to Cranston West taking the good feelings off the table for a bit. DJ Lepine is a one-man wrecking crew at times, setting as well as being a featured attacker when needed. EP will look to build on their offense as they see Pilgrim and Tolman / Shea next.
West Warwick (1 - 1) - The Wizards are off to an even start as they escaped with a victory in a white knuckled five-set match with Toll Gate. Nathan Vanasse carried the offense with 18 kills and Chad Rondeau amassed 38 assists. Then, Barrington came to town and the Wizards struggled to find their footing. Vanasse was able to generate 9 kills in the three-set loss, but West Warwick was not able to cause any real discomfort for the Eagles. Week two brings the new challenges of Westerly and Cranston West which will be a tough hill to climb and should be a solid litmus test to see if the Wizards are ready for the prime time in D2.
[New] Classical (1 - 1) - The Purple jump on the board with a surprising five-set victory over Chariho to start the 2023 season. Classical made their bones a couple years ago as a championship threat in the D2 world. Last year they moved up to D1 and it was a struggle to say the least. 2023 brings hope and the win over Chariho rings loud. Sure, the Purple were brought back down to earth with a three-set defeat at the hands of the Skippers in the forge where champions are made, but that doesn’t matter too much. What matters is they’re back on the board and ready to cause disruptions in the D1 terrene.
[↓ 1] Lincoln (0 - 1) - The Lions hosted Toll Gate and were stunned in five sets. Not the start to their D2 adventure they were hoping for. With only one match on the week, the small sample size doesn’t provide enough information for a jettisoning of the Lions. However, with Barrington, Westerly, and Cranston West in their week two future, wins may be hard to find as they face their first gauntlet run of D2.
Getting Votes… St. Raphaels, Johnston, Woonsocket, Central, Tolman / Shea, Toll Gate
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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