Round 6 - Skippers Hold all the Cards, as the Rubber meets the Road…
5/14/23
Happy Mother’s Day!!!
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Matt Tiernan (Chariho) - 20 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces vs. East Greenwich — 28 kills, 12 digs vs. MSC / NS — 22 kills vs. South Kingstown.
Michael Dobrzanski (East Greeniwch) - 15 kills, 12 digs, 2 aces vs. Chariho — 17 kills, 11 digs vs. Cranston East
Christian Mak (Cranston West) - 16 kills, 3 block, hitting a .882 vs. Central
DJ Lepine (East Providence) - 25 kills, 12 digs vs. Pilgrim — 13 kills, 10 digs vs. Central
Tyler Dickinson (Lincoln) - 10 kills, 12 blocks vs. Barrington
Dom Carpentieri (Tolman / Shea) - 48 assists, 3 kills vs. Central Falls
Ryan Harrington (North Kingstown) - 16 kills, 14 digs vs. La Salle
Cody Tow (North Kingstown) - 17 kills, 5 digs vs. La Salle
Jack Johnson (La Salle) - 17 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks vs. North Kingstown
Nick Lisi (La Salle) - 17 kills, 7 digs vs. North Kingstown
Austin Noel (Lincoln) - 26 assists, 10 digs, 11 blocks vs. Barrington
Brayden Stanger (East Greenwich) - 16 kills, 8 digs, 4 aces vs. Cranston East
Cam Kelley (Barrington) - 10 kills, 17 digs, 5 aces vs. Cranston East — 14 kills, 11 digs, 3 aces vs. Lincoln
ResV Player of the Week (6) - Thomas Matchett (Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield) - Matchett beat out Matt Tiernan, Jack Johnson, and DJ Lepine this week with a dominating five-day performance for the Hybrid. Three wins, with Matchett scoring at will and making things very uncomfortable at the net and service line. He easily hit above .400 in all three matches and had 5 or more blocks along with roughly 10 kills per match.
[↑ 1] North Kingstown (13 - 1) - The Skippers had one thought going into week six and that was to get the mental edge on the La Salle Rams. Should they be able to go to the mountain and get it done…well, the Rams will know that there is one team they just don’t have the answers for. Mission accomplished…and the four-set win also proved that the Skippers are the most complete team out there. Cody Tow is having a player of the year caliber campaign and has become a bonfide O1 in the league while Ryan Harrington is healthy and getting double doubles nightly again. Those are your pins. Jared Samson is back to the middle and causing havok at the net, while his partner Quinlan Fahy, has grown into a legit threat, giving North Kingstown the top middle duo in the state. The Hybrid may want to challenge that notion, but it’s not hard to go with Samson and Fahy. Tyler Yang is steady at the setter helm and Ryan Murphy gives them some pop on the right side. And, again, they have both matches under their belt against the Rams. Hard to go against the defending champs currently, however the Hybrid and the Chargers are lurking out there, plus on a neutral court during a Saturday afternoon, who knows what could happen…
[↓ 1] La Salle Academy (11 - 2) - Well, the Rams got two solid looks at the Skippers and came up empty twice. This most recent attempt, Jack Johnson and Nick Lisi put up 17, and still the result fell the wrong way. The last time the Rams upended North Kingstown was April 26th of 2022. Since then, both teams have either been one or two in the league and the Skippers have won the next three, with the Rams dropping four out of the last five times they’ve seen them since 2021. Point is, it appears North Kingstown has La Salle’s number. With that in mind, it is crucial that the Rams hold form and win out from here. The next best chance to get their white whale is to do it on Saturday afternoon on a neutral court. What would be catastrophic is a collapse and somehow finding themselves at the Forge in the semifinals. Nothing in the crystal ball gives a thought this will happen, but knowing the consequences of not taking care of business helps the cause. Ball control should be of adamant focus as being able to run the middle with Ephraim Abhulime is crucial. If the big guy can get 10 kills a night, everything else falls into place. Coventry, Classical, and the Hybrid are next.
[↑ 1] Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield (9 - 5) - The Hybird made their move last week, and this week they hammered home that they are coming for La Salle and North Kingstown. Fully healthy, with big middles, solid pins, arguably the best setter in the league and a highlight level libero…cooking with gas doesn’t say enough. They were able to dance past South Kingstown and handle an improved Hendricken team this week, but the real statement was going to the Cave of Chariho and handing the Chargers a three-set loss. Tiernan got 28, but Thomas Matchett dominated the match, scoring at will and collecting a plethora of blocks. Matchett also was tough at the service line causing issues for the home side. Caden Sullivan was able to find Matchett with 31s that connected with alarming success, especially in key moments. Plus, with Connor DeSousa and Ben Sousa in the passing formation, MSC / NS was able to nullify the serving of the Chargers and stay in system. So, the momentum feels like it’s building for the Hybrid and now they get their chance to make real noise. The Skippers at the Forge and the Rams on the Mountain…not a fun schedule, but would be an absolute story to run the table this week…
[↓ 1] Chariho (10 - 4) - The Chargers have lived through the arm of Matt Tiernan all year and remarkably, the career setter has kept the pace. Tiernan has only been below 20 kills three times all season. North Kingstown held him to 12 for his low and he has a 41 spot on Classical for his high. The single issue with what’s happening here is that the offense is heavily centered on one player. This allows a team to set their blocks specifically in one direction, also it means that the other attackers may not be getting the reps needed to be comfortable when they’re called upon. The Hybrid made the decision to not worry about Tiernan, he was going to get his, but made sure that the other attackers struggled…no doubt a formula that teams may looks to implement. To combat this, Poplaski is going to need to run the middles a tic more if possible. From there, Michael Perry will need to get at least 15 attempts per match to stretch out the blockers. The Chargers have proven they’re top 5, but need to prove they can knock off NK and La Salle. May also need to worry about seeing the Hybrid in the playoffs too. The second round with Skippers are this week.
Cranston West (13 - 1) - The Falcons had a quick week of work. Both Central and West Warwick fell to the CW as they continue their march toward Rhode Island College. Currently, Barrington appears to be the main threat and that match-up in week seven should be a blast. No one has been able to handle the flexibility of scoring that comes from the Falcon’s side of the net. Christian Mak on the right is tough to stop as he’s leading the state in hitting percentage (hit .882 for 16 kills against Central in their four-set win). You slow down Mak, you then have to deal with Chris Harvey in the middle who is fast and dynamic. If Harvey is off, then you know it’s coming from Lucian Spremullo on the left. At some point, you sort of run out of options and the points keep coming. Aidan Hay has done a nice job this year running this high-octane offense while also being an effective blocker. The Falcons also dig the ball pretty well and they don’t give up too many easy ones so earning points is a challenge. Toll Gate and Barrington come to the nest this week.
East Greenwich (7 - 6) - The Avengers earned a split week as they dropped a three-setter to Chariho at the Cave and then halted their three-game losing streak by taking down Cranston East. Once again this week, Michael Dobrzanski and Brayden Stanger are a tough duo that puts up numbers on the left. The problem for EG is similar to the problem for Chariho in that the puzzle isn’t hard to figure out. When everyone in the gym knows where the ball is going, so does the block and defenders. Thus, it’s essential that the Avengers figure out a way to make the block defend the whole net. Max Silverman is a solid setter who will be able to set the table strategically. The trick will be having someone step up and be a threat on the right. Certainly, keep Spencer Warburton at the Libero spot as he’s established himself as one of the better ones in the league. Perhaps taking one of your middles, Aidan Huff and move him to the right for a bigger block and different look offensively is the call. Time is running short for EG, but there are some moves to make, and they should make them, because with Stanger and Dobz you have a duo that doesn’t get nullified often. Classical, South Kingstown, and Hendricken carve out week seven for the Avengers.
[↑ 1] Barrington (12 - 1) - The Eagles are done waiting around and are eagerly ready to tackle week seven and their match up with Cranston West at the Falcon nest. They’ve held serve and have not suffered a defeat since the drubbing that occurred when the CW came to their abode. Lots of things have happened since then as well…first being the Falcons fell to Westerly. Second, Barrington has had some tough, grind them out, type of matches and prevailed…most recently being the five-set thriller with Lincoln as well as a slobber knocker against Cranston East. The trio of Cam Kelley, Maddox Godwin, and Luke Van Ness has kept the ship upright through these tough seas, always with the eye toward seeing the CW again…and here we are. Now, Westerly does come up first and that is as much of a trap game as Lincoln was (maybe more so). Slowing down Jack Kenyon and crew will take some magic, but should the Eagles fly past, however, that Cranston West match is going to be fire (as the kids say these days…honestly, don’t know what the kids say these days…I’m old and boring).
[↓ 1] Classical (7 - 7) - Oh boy. Well, the Purple have learned some lessons this week. They looked the part early on as they sent Cranston East a three-set loss. From there, however, things became strange. Hosting the winless Oakers from Coventry, Classical found themselves in a five-set war that they were not prepared for. Missing Teddy Wallace didn’t help the cause, and the Oakers got inspired play from Logan Voelker who has been up and down all year while Noah Gaudreau was superb in the middle. The result was a five-set defeat for the Purple, a great moment for an Oaker team that hasn’t seen many, and a lesson for us all…procrastinate at your own peril. Classical must absolutely turn the page fast on this week as there is still time to make up ground and hopefully slide into that fifth seed in the playoffs. Finishing sixth is a hard road, but fifth gives you a reasonable opener with a semi that isn’t North Kingstown (all theoretical at this point). Having Wallace on the floor is a necessity as this Purple side works best when all the weapons (Barry, Agramonte, and Lesser included) are at James Men’s disposal. The EG match coming up this week is huge, with La Salle and South Kingstown to follow.
Westerly (11 - 3) - The prediction was that someone was going to lose to Lincoln last week and unfortunately the Bulldogs were that team. Certainly, no shame in the loss, that Lincoln squad has a lot of talent, but the Bulldogs would have rather taken the win. It does make things tougher too in terms of landing a top seed in D2 (#1 or #2). Without the Lincoln loss, Westerly could have beaten Barrington, Cranston West, or both and come out over one of them, as one of them would have to lose to the other putting Westerly tied in the loss column and perhaps the edge in sets won. My brain just short circuited a little on all of that… Now, however, they really have to win both matches against Barrington and Cranston West for that theory to hold, as no matter what happens, they’re going to have an extra loss that the other two do not have. Point is…the loss to Lincoln was a bummer and the Lions may have spoiled the chance for Westerly to host the entire playoffs. Anyway, Jack Kenyon and Tyler Braymen are going to have to come up big this week as the CW and the Eagles aren’t going to fall easily. Luckily the Barrington match is at home…unluckily the CW match is at the Falcon nest…on senior night.
[↑ 1] East Providence (9 - 6) - The Townies had themselves a big week. They battled Pilgrim to a four-set win and then let Central know that the #4 seed belonged to them…at least for now. Beating Central at home in three is pretty significant as it establishes that EP, should they hold fourth into the playoff week, can set the pace should Central return. DJ Lepine has been the force that has made everything go this year for EP and he had a monster week with 25 kills on Pilgrim and 13 on Central. The issue for EP is that they hold that slim margin over Central, but have yet to play Barrington twice. Also, that Lion team is still out there as well. Does a potential 10 - 8 regular season record hold for fourth? We’ll find out. Beating Lincoln will help the cause tremendously. So, currently, it is a three way race for the 4th and 5th seed between EP, Central, and Lincoln with no one wanting 6th, which is understandable. The Townies can decide their own destiny here, just as an old Raider Coach used to say…just win, baby.
[↓ 2] Cranston East (4 - 11) - Not sure what to make of the Bolts fall. Nothing has gone right this year and as the loses have piled up, one gets the sense that making the playoffs is getting further and further away. Now, with all that has been going on this season, there is some solid learning going on. For example, Charlie Pincince is growing into a solid pin and that the team can count on for years to come. Caleb Xum’s play has turned some heads as well from setting to playing libero. There are also good experiences coming on the junior varsity side as well, so the future does look bright in the land of thunder. However, it’s hard to still not think how things may have been different had Jethro Vargas not hurt himself in the first match of the season. Though rumors heard claim that Vargas is feeling good and may return as early as this coming week seven, it’s going to be a hard road and at least some adjustment to put him back in the lineup. With South Kingstown and Hendricken this week, the hope is that CE can break their seven game slide. Problem is SK and Hendricken will be hoping the same thing for themselves.
Central (8 - 7) - The Knights have had a great year thus far as Donn Chu’s crew has been a hard out for anyone they’ve played. Here we are, however, where the rubber meets the road, with two loses plus a five set scare from Pilgrim and it feels like the glue is starting to come undone a little. Granted, losing to Cranston West in four is not a bad result, but the three-set sweep against EP in the Townies barn is a little troubling…especially when you consider that you may easily go back there for the first round of the playoffs. Add that the Lincoln Lions are right behind you and they’ve won four of their last five which includes Westerly and urgency now becomes the word of the week. With a non-leaguer coming up against Hope and then a date with the Wizards of West Warwick, Jet Nascimento and crew do get a breather before the final week of the regular season. Seeing Lincoln in week eight may decide a lot on the seeding realm so prepping for them will be of the highest priority. Must take care of business first against West Warwick who has a tough middle and a very good libero which makes them dangerous.
Bishop Hendricken (3 - 9) - The Hawks are much improved, but their schedule has not been kind. Seeing the Rams at the Mountain and then hosting the Hybrid at home this week…both losses hurt but are understandable. Taking a set from the Hybrid is a sign if nothing else. There is some good volleyball in the team, just need to figure out a way to harness and hold on to it. Devin Lynch continues to be the big arm for the side and he can score against pretty much anyone in the league. Brian Garrepy is still a dangerous setter that can score in bunches. Cooper Wier is as sure-handed a libero out there. But with all of that, the Hawks still make too many errors and often at the worst times possible. Credit to Coach Harrington as his team still claws every match and gives maximum effort and there is still an outside chance a playoff berth can be obtained. Need to put some teams away though, from here on out. With Chariho, Cranston East, and East Greenwich next, a lot of things will need to go right and soon.
Johnston (10 - 0) - The Panthers maintain control of the D3 world with wins over Woonsocket and St. Raphael’s, two playoff teams, and both in straight sets. The Saints were able to push Johnston however. Scores were close with the first and third setting coming down to the wire (25 - 23) though in the Panther’s favor. No doubt the reason the match was so close is because it featured two very good attackers competing. Johnston’s Cristian Gonzalez battling Ian Bing from St. Rays is a fun pairing and potentially a playoff preview as well. With Central Falls up next, the last remaining playoff contender, Johnston feels more likely than not to run the table, at least in the regular season. Mt. Hope will give it a go, as will Burrillville, but in the end, the Panthers will have the upper hand. Playoffs however are a different story with Tolman / Shea, St. Rays, Woonsocket, and Juanita Sanchez all looking for another shot at this dominate Panther crew. Also, don’t count out the neutral court on a Saturday afternoon effect either. Still plenty of mystery left in the D3 race to the crown.
Tolman / Shea (8 - 4) - The Tigers of Pawtucket continue to surprise as they hold off Central Falls in five sets and then bounce Mt. Hope in four. Dominic Carpentieri continues his stellar senior season with 48 assists against Central Falls (most likely a career high) and then 11 aces vs. Mt. Hope (probably a career high as well). Burrillville and Portsmouth are next on the docket followed by a final regular season matchup with Juanita Sanchez to cap off the comps before the playoffs. Dembo Konte has been the main fire power to date this season, however with the emergence of Helmer Ramos putting up some numbers (Ramos had 17 kills vs. Central Falls) the Tigers have to feel like a deep playoff run is possible. They have big wins over Woonsocket, Central Falls, and St. Rays while losses to Johnston and EWG are notable. Getting the second seed would be huge for hosting throughout, even third puts them in a solid position. Staying out of fourth is the goal and should be manageable minus anything unforeseen happening…have to do everything they can to stay out of the Panther’s lair!
Getting Votes… Lincoln, Central Falls, Juanita Sanchez, St. Raphael’s, Woonsocket
ResV Player of the week…
Week 1 - Matt Tiernan (Chariho)
Week 2 - Brayden Stanger (East Greenwich)
Week 3 - Jet Nascimento (Central)
Week 4 - Matt Tiernan (Chariho)
Week 5 - Matt Tiernan (Chariho)
Week 6 - Thomas Matchett (Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield)
Playoff Races through Week Six…
Division 1 :
North Kingstown - Fully healthy, most complete roster takes down the Rams in four. Hybrid will test.
La Salle - Can’t seem to figure out the Skippers, need to hold the fort to keep second seed.
Mount Saint Charles / North Smithfield - Finally have starting six on the floor. Dispatched Chargers, looking to run the table and shock Skippers and Rams.
Chariho - Loss to the Hybrid is a cause for concern. Can they ride Tiernan’s arm to the end?
East Greenwich - Feels like they’re a piece away now. Pins are real but need a counterbalance on the right.
Division 2 :
Cranston West - Falcons still feel the most complete D2 team. Barrington re-match will be interesting.
Barrington - Eagles have a tough road with Westerly and Cranston West. Best not to overlook the Bulldogs first.
Westerly - Upset by Lincoln hurts the cause. Need to take Barrington and Cranston West. Do they have the firepower to do so?
East Providence - Wrestling fourth from Central puts them in position to host first round. Can they hold it?
Central - Need to win out and hold off Lincoln who is coming on strong. Big difference between 4th or 5th, and 6th.
Division 3 :
Johnston - Pushed a little this week, but still held on. Just too much offense for everyone else.
Tolman / Shea - Stronger at the setter position then Juanita Sanchez, though they’re both close. Do they have enough arms to trouble Johnston?
Juanita Sanchez - Have a knack for knocking off top teams. Can they continue that trend with the Panthers next?
St. Raphael’s - Scared Johnston as they have a big middle and some arms to score. Errors plague though.
Central Falls - They hold off Woonsocket for now, but another two loses and its over.
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To send season updates, stories, stats, and players to consider, email Coach Reslow at Scott.Reslow@protonmail.com.