Week Five - The Struggle is Real…
10/7/24
Believing.
Believing is different than knowing.
It’s the difference between faith and fact.
Quite frankly, it’s the difference between human emotion and what is tangible.
If you’ve read ResV articles often, you already know I like to mention how complex every single human being is. The sentence that always follows is, “It’s a miracle we agree on anything…”
In this instance, I’ve thought a lot about what it must look like from the outside as I write these articles and submit my rankings week to week.
For example, how is it that certain teams are still on the board when they have losing records? Well, the rankings, for the most part, are designed to highlight the top volleyball teams in the state of Rhode Island.
Too that point, there are teams that have great records at the moment, but the strength of schedule is different than the teams on the ResV board.
Therein lies the problem. What is factual vs. belief? Numbers do not lie, as they say. So, a team that is 9 - 1, must be better than a team that is 3 - 7…right?
The concept of believing, faith, is that it’s hard to shake it. A believer does not just stop…in fact, the premise of believing is often to carry on despite information to the contrary.
Teams cannot change their schedules now. They’re set in stone. So, for me, it’s about what I see when they play and how they do business. My opinion is the judge.
The actions cannot lie. They’ll always tell the story. From there, I constantly implore all to make me a believer.
Seeing is believing…or so the saying goes.
Fin
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Sophia Denham - Setter - Barrington - 14 assists, 10 aces at Cranston West
Avery Gomes - Pin - Bay View - 14 kills, 5 aces against Pilgrim
Kimi Hickey - Libero - Lincoln - 22 digs, 4 aces vs. Cumberland : 22 digs, 3 aces vs. Barrington
Ameena Sarr - Setter - Lincoln - 28 assists, 4 aces vs. Cumberland
Lyla Parmorier - Setter - Cumberland - 28 assists at Lincoln
Hayleigh Korzeniowski - Pin - Tiverton - 10 kills, 13 digs against Ponaganset : 14 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces against Block Island
Olivia Rodrigues - Libero - Tiverton - 20 digs against Ponaganset : 20 digs, 6 aces against Block Island
Landa Weah - Setter - Hope - 17 assists, 10 aces, 5 kills, 4 digs against Achievement First
Alexa Hernandez - Libero - Hope - 12 digs, 11 aces against Achievement First
Tess LeFrenier - Pin - North Kingstown - 11 kills, 2 aces vs. East Greenwich : 14 kills, 3 aces vs. South Kingstown
Caitlin Mediate - Setter - Portsmouth - 5 kills, 5 digs, 26 assists vs. Coventry : 27 assists, 9 digs, 6 kills, 2 aces vs. Prout
Hailey Labonte - Pin - Portsmouth - 11 kills, 19 digs, 2 aces vs, Coventry : 13 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces vs. Prout
Mila Abedon - Libero - Portsmouth - 26 digs, 6 aces vs. Coventry
Lyla Auth - Setter / Pin - Westerly - 10 kills, 5 aces, 11 assists, 12 digs against Cranston East : 6 kills, 4 aces, 8 assists, 8 digs against Exeter West Greenwich
Abbey Donato - Setter - Westerly - 20 assists, 16 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces against Cranston East
Olivia Lowell - Setter - Chariho - 26 assists, 10 aces, 7 digs vs. South Kingstown
Lillian Baxter - Middle - Chariho - 8 kills, 9 blocks vs. South Kingstown
Mia Iemma - Libero - South Kingstown - 35 digs, 4 aces at Chariho
India Vaughn-Hallene - Pin - South Kingstown - 20 kills, 4 aces at Chariho
Lucy Cripizzo - Pin - South Kingstown - 18 kills, 11 digs at Chariho
Rachel Freshman - Setter - Barrington - 15 aces, 2 kills at Classical
Emma McCrann - Pin - Barrington - 9 kills, 5 aces at Classical
Sarah Wilcox - Setter / Pin - Mt. Hope - 5 kills, 16 digs, 12 assists vs. West Warwick
Maisy Naff - Pin - LaSalle Academy - 11 kills, 2 blocks, 5 digs vs. East Providence
Dorie Chatto - Pin - Classical - 10 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks against Cranston West
Gianna Piker - Pin - Middletown - 9 kills, 6 aces at Pilgrim
Arielly DeAndrade - Pin - Central Falls - 15 kills, 3 blocks against St. Rays
Davina Kodua - Setter - Tolman - 17 assists, 6 digs, 4 aces, 2 kills vs. Mount Pleasant
Ruby Prendergast - Pin - Narragansett - 9 kills, 7 digs, 4 aces, 2 blocks against Rogers
Danna Garcia - Pin - Central - 13 kills, 3 aces against Blackstone Valley : 15 kills against North Providence
Keisy Henriquez - Pin - Hope - 9 kills, 11 aces, 10 digs against Toll Gate
Landa Weah - Setter - Hope - 19 assists, 6 aces against Toll Gate
Zariyah Brown - Pin - Hope - 7 kills, 8 aces, 7 digs against Toll Gate
Aidan Reilly - Pin - Middletown - 10 Kills, 5 aces vs. Prout
Olivia Kestler - Setter - Middletown - 19 assists and 11 digs vs. Prout : 21 assists vs. Pilgrim
Maighan Parsley - Libero - Middletown - 6 aces, 14 digs vs. Pilgrim
Mary McNulty - Pin - Toll Gate - 15 kills, 2 aces against Pilgrim
Kayleigh Garrepy - Middle - North Kingstown - 8 kills, 2 blocks vs. South Kingstown
Lucy Steppen - Middle - North Kingstown - 3 kills, 4 blocks vs. South Kingstown
Mia Lemma - Libero - South Kingstown - 21 digs at North Kingstown
Erin O'Leary - Pin - Chariho - 12 kills, 8 digs, 3 aces at Classical
Dara Agramonte - Setter - Classical - 22 assists, 4 kills vs. Chariho
Tamral Tarlue - Pin - Classical - 8 kills, 5 aces, 2 digs vs. Chariho
Kiera Mullen - Setter / Pin - East Providence - 13 kills, 4 blocks, 3 aces at Coventry
Eliza Vest - Pin - East Providence - 8 kills, 5 aces, 8 digs at Coventry
Morgan Martin - Libero - Barrington - 11 digs, 10 aces at Lincoln
Abby Allen - Middle - Mt. Hope - 12 kills, 6 blocks vs. North Smithfield
Mia Hanson - Libero - Mt. Hope - 22 digs vs. North Smithfield
Sarah Wilcox - Setter - Mt. Hope - 16 assists, 4 aces vs. North Smithfield
Sophia Majeau - Pin - North Smithfield - 11 kills, 5 digs at Mt. Hope
Kenzie Marcoux - Setter / Pin - North Smithfield - 4 kills, 5 aces at Mt. Hope
Avery Gomes - Pin - Bay View - 19 kills, 4 aces against Burrillville
Charlotte Didie-Burke - Setter - Bay View - 42 assists against Burrillville
Mackenzie Cleary - Middle - Burrillville - 15 kills, 7 digs against Bay View
Alina Lindgren - Libero - Burrillville - 32 digs, 2 aces against Bay View
Big Matches Coming Up…
10/7 - North Kingstown hosts East Providence - 6:30pm
Chariho hosts Portsmouth - 6pm
Tolman hosts St. Rays - 6:30pm
North Smithfield hosts Middletown - 6:30pm
10/8 - Narragansett hosts Tolman - 6:30pm
10/9 - LaSalle hosts Portsmouth - 6:30pm
East Providence hosts Prout - 6:30pm
Mt. Hope hosts Lincoln - 6pm
Chariho host East Greenwich - 6:30pm
10/10 - Tolman host Ponaganset - 6:30pm
10/11 - North Kingstown hosts Chariho - 6:30pm
Burrillville host Barrington - 6pm
ResV Team of the Week…
Pin- Tess LeFrenier - Sr. - North Kingstown (2) - 25 kills and 5 aces on the week in only two matches. Skippers stay unbeaten and LeFrenier is on the ResV TOW again.
Pin- Avery Gomes - Jr. - Bay View (2) - Bay View is fighting to get the ship right after a tough start to the season and Gomes is the pivot point. She put up 14 kills, 5 aces in their only match this week leading to a key needed win over Pilgrim.
Middle- Abby Allen - Sr. - Mt. Hope - Huge match for Allen against a playoff opponent…12 kills, 6 blocks…North Smithfield didn’t have an answer.
Middle- Mackenzie Cleary - Sr. - Burrillville (2) - Cleary’s second time on the ResV TOW. 15 kills, 7 digs against Bay View, was a pretty nice level for a middle blocker (most middles are not called upon to generate digs!).
Pin- Arielly DeAndrade - So. - Central Falls - 15 kills, 3 blocks against St. Rays! Solid effort and matches her up with Danna Garcia as one of the top weapons in her division.
Setter- Charlotte Didie-Burke - So. - Bay View - Anytime a setter goes north of 40 assists, you know it was a big match. Dide-Burke did just that against Burrillville in a five-set thriller which was tops for assists by a setter on the week…that I knew about anyways.
Libero- Morgan Martin - Sr. - Barrington - Eagles have so many weapons that many forget they have one of the top Liberos in the state. Martin cleans up a lot of things in the back row and she serves very tough. 11 digs and 10 aces against the freshly minted rival Lincoln tells the tale.
Utility- Caitlin Mediate - Sr. - Portsmouth - Hard to believe that it’s Mediate’s first time on the Team of the Week. Having a top tier senior season, Mediate did a little bit of everything this week as you can see the stat lines above. Whether it’s assists, digs, kills, or aces, you can trust that Caitlin is going to fill up the state sheet.
ResV Top 15…
North Kingstown (11 - 0, Wins over East Greenwich and South Kingstown) - Skippers to begin giving out knockout blows to the top four this week. Win over EP will ensure the Townies can do no better than second…assuming there is no collapse by themselves.
Portsmouth (9 - 1, Wins over Coventry and Prout) - Patriots are eyeing a knockout blow of their own. Get the win on the road at the Mountain Top and the Rams may only be able to fight EP for third.
+1 LaSalle Academy (9 - 2, Wins over Prout, East Providence, and Cranston East) - Rams have to see opportunity this week. If they can defend the Mountain, Portsmouth gets a second loss and then second place is up for grabs…maybe even first if there is a NK collapse.
—1 East Providence (9 - 2, Win over Coventry, Loss to LaSalle) - Hard week for the Townies as they are looking to set NK straight at the Forge. Should that not go well, visiting Prout is no gimmee. Alway fun when all the games on the week have meaning.
Prout (10 - 4, Wins over Middletown and Tolman, Losses to LaSalle and Portsmouth) - Week five was a lot of volleyball. Week six is no picnic either. Westerly has some sting, and East Providence may be mad as hornets depending on how their date with the Skippers go.
+1 Barrington (9 - 2, Wins over Cranston West, Classical, and Lincoln) - Dispatching up and coming Lincoln was big. Classical and the CW considered standard challengers. Eagles appear to just keep on soaring as a fun date at Burrillville looms.
—1 East Greenwich (5 - 5, Win over Cranston West, Loss to North Kingstown) - Interesting week for the Avengers. Coventry could push them, and Chariho absolutely will push them. Knights of maroon are learning that the second half of season can be a slog.
Chariho (5 - 6, Wins over South Kingstown and Classical) - A two win week was so desperately needed by the Chargers. Well, happy times are over and back to the battle. With Portsmouth, East Greenwich, and NK on the docket…well, I hope they brought their hard hats.
South Kingstown (3 - 7, Losses to Chariho and North Kingstown) - Faith in the Rebels is starting to crumble. SK needed that Chariho match badly. Granted they fought, they also battled NK, but in the end, it’s looking like the rebels just can’t close the deal. Need two of the next three to not lose their grip entirely.
Lincoln (8 - 2, Win over Cumberland, Loss to Barrington) - Lions kept the status quo. Sure, it would have been nice to take one from Barrington, but they didn’t need to do so. They needed to make sure they weren’t stunned by Cumberland. Mission accomplished. Now, they have to have the Mt. Hope match as it would keep both Mt. Hope and Middletown at bay.
Middletown (7 - 4, Win over Pilgrim, Loss to Prout) - The Islanders hold the fort with the vic over Pilgrim. Prout was a fun match to have, but not needed in the long run. The next two matches, however, are very dangerous for Middletown. North Smithfield can play, and Bay View is all of a sudden not fun to play.
+1 Mt. Hope (7 - 5, Wins over West Warwick and North Smithfield) - May be late to the party, but it appears some changes have occurred for this Mt. Hope side. It worked for week five…will it work for week six? The North Smithfield match is a must have.
—1 Cumberland (5 - 8, Win over West Warwick, Loss to Lincoln) - Sometimes you just hate to break it to someone. Clippers needed that Lincoln match. Granted they pushed the Lions to five, but so needed the result. Have to have two this week or face disappearing once again.
North Smithfield (7 -3, Win over Exeter West Greenwich, Loss to Mt. Hope) - With seasonal losses against Mt. Hope, Cumberland, and Middletown, the pattern for North Smithfield is not looking good. They have four more chances to beat a top five team in the division, or face the future of uncertainty come playoff time.
Tolman (8 - 3, Wins over St. Raphael’s, Mt. Pleasant, and Woonsocket, Loss to Prout) - No question the Tigers will play anyone, anywhere. The concern becomes tired legs. Need to have some pop come playoff time. Another three-banger week is upcoming, so we’ll see who is tired first…(between me and the Tolman team…I’m going to lose.)
Receiving Votes: Westerly, Central Falls, St. Rays, Narragansett, Ponaganset, Burrillville, Hope, Central, and Shea
ResV Player of the Week…
Week One - Caitlin Mediate - Sr. - Setter - Portsmouth (Committed to Saint Michael’s College)
Week Two - Tess LeFrenier - Sr. - Pin - North Kingstown (Committed to Adelphi University)
Week Three - Syd Henson - Sr. - Setter - North Kingstown (Committed to Adelphi University)
Week Four - Darryl Ashilaka - Fr. - Pin - Cumberland
Week Five - Maisy Naff - Jr. - Pin - LaSalle Academy - Player of the Week can mean huge stat matches, or it can mean coming up big in a match that is huge. Naff gets the nod on the second as the Rams were able to upend East Providence (a big-time match) in a three-set sweep. Generating 11 kills, 2 blocks, and 5 digs in a game that absolutely has playoff seeding consequences, Naff kept the possibility for the second seed in the tournament alive.
ResV Honorable Baller of the Week…
Week One - Kealyn Pearson - Sr. - Pin - Exeter/West Greenwich
Week Two - Jude Landero - Jr. - Libero - North Providence
Week Three - Danna Garcia - Sr. - Pin - Central
Week Four - Jennifer Dos Santos Soares - Sr. - Middle - Shea
Week Five - Mary McNulty - Sr. - Pin - Toll Gate - Though her team’s results at the moment are not on solid ground (Titans have lost five of their last seven), McNulty had an excellent match against Pilgrim where she amassed 15 kills and 2 aces in the setback.
Playoff Races Through Week Five…
D1-
North Kingstown - Seem to be calm waters everywhere for the Skippers.
Portsmouth - Have a key win over LaSalle, and with the Rams nabbing one from EP, it looms larger. Would be in the best interest to take another one from them.
LaSalle Academy - Taking down the Townies showcase the level they can be. Now need to put pressure on Portsmouth.
East Providence - The shine has come off a little. Need to have a big week. Stunning the defending champs would start selling tickets to be sure.
Prout - Good news is they’re playing everybody. Bad news also is they’re playing everybody. Need to get a signature win against the top four at some point.
D2-
Barrington - Eagles feel comfortable now and that is an issue for everyone in the league.
Middletown - Healthy and causing some discomfort across the board…but do they have enough to ground the Eagles?
Lincoln - They’ll out defend you any day of the week, perhaps twice on Sunday, but it’ll come down to whether they can put the ball away enough.
Mt. Hope - Solid rebound week, and it sounds like they’ve moved some pieces around. Always interesting when that happens.
Cumberland - Need a couple of wins this week or they will officially slide from the mountain.
D3-
Tolman - Have arguably the top setter in the league and are playing all teams tough.
St. Rays - Saints get their shot at Tolman this upcoming week. Best not miss…
Central Falls - Absolutely like what Central Falls is doing these past two weeks. Let Tolman get the headlines, we’re just going to keep on winning matches.
Narragansett - Mariners started later, but just keep winning ball games. I’m not a believer yet, but I’m getting close. A win over Tolman would certainly bring me to a pew.
Ponaganset - Have won six out of the last seven. Tolman would be another feather in the cap.
D4-
Central - I’m all in on the Central train! I think they have the top weapon in the conference, and everyone knows it…however, since everyone knows it, they’re going to adapt. I’ve also been wrong many times before…
Hope - Wins over Toll Gate and Shea tell me they’re for real. However, the struggle session with Central gives pause.
Shea - The number one problem for Shea is that they can’t seem to put anyone away cleanly. At the end of the day, winning the match is what matters, this I know, but when every match is an adventure…well, tiredness can show late.
Davies - Back to back losses against Shea and Central, with Hope next. Not a good position to be in at the moment.
Toll Gate - Winning two out of the last seven is not the trajectory a team is looking for. On the bright side, if they can beat Woonsocket next, they’ll hold their playoff position.
ResV Coaching Tip of the Week:
This week’s coaching tip is all about communicating with your players, especially if there is an issue. When you’re working with high school and college athletes, the name of the game is communication…and communication in abundance. Honest communication early and often can save many headaches. It’s ok to let your players know how you evaluate them and that your evaluation continues every practice throughout the entire year. Avoid promising anyone anything, because if you can’t deliver on a promise…well, once you’re a liar, you’re always a liar. You do not want to avoid meetings, but you do want to control the timing. Set the expectation early, meetings with coach will take place on off days, are scheduled, and are open to everyone. We will not discuss anything in the middle of practices or matches. No season will be problem free, but if you are able to communicate effectively, honestly, and abundantly, the chances for things to go sideways will reduce dramatically.
ResV Player Tip of the Week:
Coach Garrepy (Current North Kingstown Coach) was my assistant at Johnson & Wales for a decade. During that time, we went from being an ok team to a very solid one. His major influence on the program was the idea of “attack the attacker.” The idea is that you do not want to be on your heels when a ball is served or hit at you. Coach would go into even greater depth and say everyone knows, or should know, about Isaac Newton’s laws…the main one in this instance being an object in motion stays in motion, an object at rest stays at rest. Thus, if you are not moving once the ball is struck, it’ll be harder to intercept because you lose a millisecond, or three, of time just to get your body moving…whereas if your body is already in motion, you can redirect it quickly to make the pass or dig based on the information you take in. To put it simply…On heels, you’re too slow. The most efficient way to move for passing and digging is a pre-hop on contact which will actually make it seem like you have an extra second to make the play. In actuality, all you’ve done is allow your body to stay in motion and eliminate the time it takes from your brain to tell your body to move and for it to do so.
To send updates, stories, and players college decisions…or inquire about coffee beans that Coach roasts himself, to Coach Reslow - Scott.Reslow@protonmail.com
Coaches! Please feel free to reach out if interested in scheduling some time to talk shop! I’d love to help your program out!