Week One…Knives are already Out!
4/7/24
The Third Annual ResV Systems Charity All-Star Match is on June 15th at East Greenwich High School! Set Your Calendars Now!!!
The new season has begun and big time match-ups were featured quickly. LaSalle Academy, North Kingstown, and North Smithfield all saw top 15 ranked opponents in week one…and emerged unscathed. We had arguably two of the top teams in Division II duke it out in Barrington and Cranston West…with the Falcons surviving victorious and laying the early claim to guardsmen to the crown. Johnston and Tolman/Shea both suffered losses this week, ensuring that it’ll be a full race for the Division III cup. Bishop Hendricken also upset Chariho bringing the Hawks back to the board and the Chargers back to the drawing room. Lastly, Classical’s emergence is coming. The Purple look good and the rest of D-1 better be prepared.
Week two is going to be a blast!
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Cody Tow - North Kingstown - Pin - 14 kills, 2 aces vs. Coventry : 14 kills, 4 aces, 7 digs at Cranston East
Ryan Harrington - North Kingstown - Pin - 8 kills, 6 aces, 6 digs vs. Coventry : 15 kills, 3 blocks, 7 digs at Cranston East : 12 kills, 10 digs, 4 blocks at East Greenwich
Evan Shea - North Kingstown - Setter - 34 assists vs. Coventry : 37 assists at Cranston East
Ty Cotta - LaSalle Academy - Libero - 20 digs vs. Cranston East
Ali Abdul-Razzak - LaSalle Academy - Setter - 26 assists, 4 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks, and 2 aces vs. Cranston East : 33 assists, 2 aces, 2 blocks at East Greenwich
Ephraim Abhulime - LaSalle Academy - Pin - 11 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks vs. Cranston East : 16 kills at East Greenwich
David Green - LaSalle Academy - Middle - 4 kills, 7 blocks vs. Cranston East
Spencer Warburton - East Greenwich - Pin - 16 kills, 18 digs, 2 aces at South Kingstown : 8 kills, 2 aces, and 7 digs vs. LaSalle Academy
Jhamir Evans - LaSalle Academy - Pin - 5 kills, 5 aces, 4 blocks, and 13 digs vs. Cranston East : 7 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs and a block at East Greenwich
Max Silverman - East Greenwich - Setter - 30 assists, 3 aces, 16 digs, 2 blocks at South Kingstown : 22 assists, 11 digs, 4 aces vs. LaSalle Academy
Andrew Ramos - Bishop Hendricken - Middle - 13 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces vs. Chariho
Ryan Yin - Bishop Hendricken - Pin - 10 kills, 8 digs vs. Chariho
Ben Warr - Bishop Hendricken - Setter - 37 assists, 4 digs, 3 blocks vs. Chariho
Loden Broe - East Providence - Setter - 35 assists, 7 digs vs. Westerly
DJ Lepine - East Providence - Pin - 8 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces vs. Westerly
Jordan Rodriguez - East Providence - Pin - 15 kills, 7 digs vs. Westerly
Kody Poplaski - Chariho - Setter - 25 assists, 4 aces vs. Bishop Hendricken
Quinn Sposato - Chariho - Pin - 14 kills vs. Bishop Hendricken
Will Ellis - Chariho - Libero - 14 digs vs. Bishop Hendricken and 16 digs vs. South Kingstown
Wayne McNamara - Lincoln - Pin - 15 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks, and 5 digs vs. West Warwick
Austin Noel - Lincoln - Setter - 29 assists, 8 blocks, 3 aces vs. West Warwick
Tom Matchett - North Smithfield - Middle - 12 kills, 4 blocks, 2 aces vs. Classical
Caden Sullivan - North Smithfield - Setter - 38 assists, 3 aces vs. Classical
Carter Deslauriers - North Smithfield - Pin - 11 kills vs. Classical
Jet Nascimento - Central - Pin - 18 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks vs. Barrington : 13 kills, 15 digs, and a block vs. Cranston East
James Men - Classical - Setter - 39 assists 3 blocks, 3 digs at North Smithfield : 33 assists, 3 aces vs. Bishop Hendricken
Teddy Wallace - Classical - Middle - 15 kills, 3 blocks at North Smithfield : 9 kills, 4 blocks, 6 aces, 4 digs vs. Bishop Hendricken
Ian Nascimento - Classical - Pin - 13 kills at North Smithfield
Chris Harvey - Cranston West - Pin - 18 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces vs. Barrington
Christian Mak - Cranston West - Pin - 10 kills, 12 digs, 5 aces, and 3 blocks vs. Barrington
Ashton Mak - Cranston West - Setter - 35 assists, 7 aces, 2 kills vs. Barrington
Cam Kelley - Barrington - Pin - 20 kills, 9 digs at Cranston West
Sang Min Park - Barrington - Setter - 42 assists, 2 aces, 8 digs at Cranston West
Luke Van Ness - Barrington - Libero - 23 digs, 2 assists at Cranston West
ResV Team of the Week…
Pin - Jet Nascimento - Central - Sr. - Averaged 5 kills per set in two matches, along with nearly 4 digs per set, Nascimento showed why many feel he may be the top arm in the league in week one.
Pin - Cody Tow - North Kingstown - Jr. - Tow is the hammer on the left who can beat you with his energy alone. Posting back to back 14 kill outings, while serving extremely tough, puts Cody on this team for the first week.
M - Tom Matchett - North Smithfield - Sr. - Big fella did work in week one. While North Smithfield didn’t drop a set in the first week, Matchett scored at will and showcased his bid for top middle in the state.
M - Teddy Wallace - Classical - Sr. - Mr. Wallace is roaming the middle and causing headaches for opponents. Averaging nearly 4 kills per set and blocking at one a clip, Wallace completes a middle duo that the Purple love.
Pin - Cam Kelley - Barrington - Sr. - The Barrington Bruiser has an arm for days and he’s not afraid to take swings. Kelley terminates at a high level is the state’s first 20 kill in a match guy.
S- Ali Abdul-Razzak - LaSalle Academy - Sr. - Similar to his teammate, Ali is known throughout the league just by his first name. He is off to a solid start in week one, averaging nearly 10 assists a set and filling up stat sheets like no one’s business.
L- Luke Van Ness - Barrington - Sr. - Van Ness bested the 20 dig mark in his latest outing (first lib to do so this season) and continues to be a defensive stalwart for the Eagles since his junior year.
ResV Top 15…
LaSalle Academy (3 - 0) - When I was a young lad, just an up and comer in the volleyball scene, my teammates and I would sit around the campfire, between matches, and tell tales of a team that had too many lefties on their side. They decided to flip the offense traditional scheme and run everything backwards. Someone would claim to have seen it…”It was so funky and weird” they’d say. We’d nod our heads, but secretly wouldn’t believe… The 2024 Rams are attempting this exact tale, and thus far it’s flawless. Dropping no sets, winning three matches in a row, all while taking the top middle in the state and moving him to the outside hitter position. So, lots of interesting stuff going on at the mountain top…but the Skippers and Northmen are looming.
North Kingstown (3 - 0) - The Skippers are already pretty steady on the waters and this start mimics the opening campaign they had when Sebastian Yates was the opposite. North Kingstown didn’t drop a set in week one and looked pretty unfazed by the competition. Now, things become a little more interesting when they see LaSalle at the Mountain Top next week, as that puzzle may be the hardest to break. That one should come down to LaSalle’s passing vs. North Kingstown’s ability to be stout enough at the net.
North Smithfield (2 - 0) - The Northmen swept Classical at home which is a pretty nice statement game early in the season. Classical is no easy task, so getting that first home win in three sets is substantial. They see East Greenwich and LaSalle Academy next. The Avengers are a tough, scrappy team that’s missing their top hammer from last season, meanwhile the Rams are the Rams. Bet that Connor DeSousa, Caden Sullivan, Tom Matchett and company are ready for another dance with LaSalle as last year’s tango finished quite sour.
(+2) Classical (2 -1) - The Purple move up two spots. Granted, they lost to North Smithfield in three on the road, but since then, they demolished a much-improved Bishop Hendricken side and thumped the Chariho Chargers at the Cave. Jacob Agramonte and Teddy Wallace are top tier weapons in the state and James Men is a premier orchestrator. They’re going to need a signature win at some point over LaSalle, NK, or North Smithfield to really get into the discussion… They have a “handle your business” week coming up, but afterwards it should get interesting.
(+2) Cranston West (2 - 0) - The CW is back in business! My thinking was with some key positions changing hands, and perhaps a slight hangover from last year championship, the Falcons might not be up to the task this season. I stand corrected! The CW held off a very tough Barrington side at home to stun the Division II world. Chris Harvey, now playing on the pin, had a monster game, along with teammate Christian Mak. Add that Ashton Mak, brother to Christian, set well and lit it up from the service line, and you have a resurgent CW. With Barrington stunned, the Falcons turn their eyes to the Townies of East Providence…who may now be the biggest threat in the conference.
(—2) Barrington (1 - 1) - Well, the Eagles were certainly not expecting to drop to the CW this past week…though in retrospect, it’s not too much of an upset. Barrington, like any team out there, can falter if the passing is not where it needs to be. Cranston West is a rocking gym too, and the team has vets who’ve been doing this gig for a bit. No matter, the Eagles will pick up the pieces and soldier forward. Good news, Cam Kelley put up 20 kills, Luke Van Ness nabbed 23 digs, and there were strong contributions all over the place. Just that passing thing…which becomes a bigger deal when you have an electric middle like Jimmy Ciummo that you have to utilize. The Townies from EP are next and you have to think that the Eagles need it to bolster their confidence for a chance at winning this thing.
(+1) Lincoln (2 - 0) - Prior to sitting down to write this article, I was up at Wentworth Institute of Technology as the broadcaster for the Leopards as they faced the Raiders of Rivier U. Riv has had a truly strange season with all sorts of oddities…and a lot of them not so good. All that aside, the current Raider roster features two of the top volleyball players to come out of Lincoln, Chris Lezon and Tyler Dickinson. Lezon is an all-conference middle and Dickinson is just in his first year of his college volleyball journey, but was huge in the championship run from last year for the Lions. It was good to see them. This year, the 2024 Lions feature Wayne McNamara as the premier weapon who will play a huge role as he did in the previous season. Lions are two up now and will be a hard out for anyone. They host Barrington and Central next and both those clubs could cause issues.
(—3) Cranston East (1 - 2) - The Bolts are missing a piece and that certainly hurts the cause. They also played the top two seeds to date, so it’s hard to read into those early results. It is worth noting that mistakes early need to be learned from, regardless of if they get said piece back or not. Maturity and consistency is the key to every team and CE needs to get there…just like everyone else. There is talent all over the roster and woe to anyone if they can put it all together. Hendricken and Chariho are next.
(+1) East Providence (3 - 0) - The Townies have a real solid team…so be ready. Going 3 - 0 in week one is a great start and showcased that Division II will have more to worry about then just last year’s top three…Lincoln, Cranston West, and Barrington. The emergence of Jordan Rodriguez on the pin has really changed the game for this year’s EP side. Rodriguez paired with last year’s hammer, DJ Lepine, gives two high scoring pins that do damage when needed. With Barrington and Central next, the Townies are going to need those pins to be solid so they can continue to make the statement that DII belongs to the guys in crimson and white.
(—1) East Greenwich (1 - 2) - The tough luck Avengers had themselves a rough week one. Having LaSalle and NK in the first week is brutal, especially for a team missing their top attacker from last year. With Dobz still on the mend, however, Spencer Warburton broke through on the pin. Warburton, who was the libero and part time setter last year, has come on the scene and put numbers up. This bodes well for the future, especially if they get fully healthy. Max Silverman is off to a great senior year start at the setter position and the middles look pretty solid as well. North Smithfield will be a tall order in week two, but the scrimmage with the CW and a match against Hendricken should be right in their wheelhouse.
(New) Bishop Hendricken (2 - 1) - The Hawks are back on the board! Hendricken comes back to the top 15 with a surprising 2 - 1 record in week one, complimented with a nice upset of Chariho at home to start off the 2024 season. Ben Warr looks real good as the setter while a couple of sophomores are paying early dividends in Andrew Ramos and Ryan Yin. Ramos and Yin have arms and are playing pretty good ball early in their careers while Charles Kretzer, a senior pin and outstanding thespian, is the overall catalyst for the offense. It’s a rather young team, with senior guideship and arguably the top coach in the state (I’m beginning the process to figure it out, but pretty sure Coach Harrington is the winningest all-time coach in RI boys high school history!). It won’t be an easy road for the Hawks, but they’ll be better at the end of the season then they are now and it’s a good bet no one will want to see them in the playoffs.
(—1) Chariho (1 - 2) - The Chargers drop a spot and certainly things are a little different from last year’s run. Look, everyone knew things would be different, so it’s not a big deal, and this Charger team feels a little like the Hawks and Avengers…plenty of positives. Kody Poplaski is solid with hands, Travis Plante-Mullen is a handful in the middle, and Quinn Sposato has made a jump in his play becoming a significant weapon on the pin. Also, William Ellis has emerged as a sure handed Lib as well. The key will be can they pass well enough to run middle…kind of the same problem that Barrington is going through. If they can, Plante-Mullen will feast and wins will come. Coventry and Cranston East are next on the schedule.
(—1) Westerly (0 - 2) - The Bulldogs had a tough week. Dropping matches to East Providence and Lincoln (though those are two of the top teams in the division) certainly hurt the cause. However, an injury to Henry Kenyon hurts more. Henry, Jack’s brother was going to be a huge factor for the Bulldogs this season, instead he’s on the sidelines and the Bulldogs are looking for answers. As with any time these things happen, it’s often a blessing in disguise…as long as you make the tournament. Other players will now get meaningful minutes and opportunities while Henry is on the mend, thus getting better and better. Once the team is fully whole, those opportunities pay off, the team is stronger, and then rocks and rolls forward in the playoffs. In the meantime, they do have one of the top players in the state in Jack Kenyon and the schedule will get easier soon.
(—1) Central (0 - 2) - The Knights drop their first two, but it’s not time to hit the panic button. The loss to Barrington is absolutely fine this early in the season, and the Cranston East match is out of conference play so no big deal there either. Through the first two, Jet Nascimento has put up huge numbers which is a great sign as the Knights will need him to produce to win…plus the team should continue round into shape as the year unfolds. Similarly to Westerly, there are positives, but the learning curve is going to take some time, so the team may take some lumps. In the end, Central should grow and be a squad no one wants to see in the playoffs. Though the schedule is not kind going forward with Cranston West, East Providence, and Lincoln next…
(New) Central Falls (2 - 0) - The Warriors played some sets in week one! Ten of them to be precise and came out victorious as well. The Toll Gate vic was big as the Titans feature one of the top arms in the D-III world in Austin Scotti. The win that upset the applecart, however, was the five-set thriller over Tolman/Shea. The boys from Pawtucket were thought to be the top dogs this season, but Central Falls had different ideas on that, clearly. Regardless, it’s a great start for the Warriors and it’ll be interesting to see how they navigate the waters going forward.
Getting Votes… Juanita Sanchez, St. Raphael’s, Woonsocket, Johnston, Tolman/Shea, Scituate
***Each week, based on results, this list will be altered.
ResV Player of the Week…
Week 1 - Spencer Warburton (East Greenwich) - Warburton, last year’s libero and part time setter, was thrust into the starting pin position with the Avengers still missing their top attacker from last year. Warburton went to work, amassing 35 kills, averaging 3.5 per set, with 28 digs and 5 aces.
Playoff Races Through Week one…
Division 1:
LaSalle Academy - Big, unique, and dominant at the net. It’ll be hard to crack the code…though interested to see what happens if someone does…
North Kingstown - They serve tough and have top tier ball control. They score from everywhere as well. The block worries, but only against the top four teams in the state.
North Smithfield - Probably the only team with four legit college ready players on their side.
Classical - Need a signature win over the top three, but are primed to do so. Lots of weapons and everyone has to come to their barn at least once.
Cranston East - Missing a second premier pin hurts. Add some youthful headaches plus still searching for the right combination and you have what the Bolts are going through.
Division 2:
Cranston West - The CW defends their house from the Eagles…Huge ripples from that match!
East Providence - The Townies are complete and should make everyone nervous. They’ll get to make their point in week two…
Barrington - Eagles get stunned at the CW. Recovery with beating an EP team is just what the doctor ordered.
Lincoln - Lions still feel disrespected even though they are the defending champs. Week two could settle those thoughts quickly.
Westerly - Key injury makes it tough for the Bulldogs. Can they hold on until they are whole? We’ll see…
Division 3:
Central Falls - They like to play volleyball! With a couple of 5 sets vics over Toll Gate and Tolman the Warriors launch to the top spot.
Scituate - The Spartans do their job in week one in convincing fashion. Johnston’s on the horizon though…
St. Raphael’s - A new era has begun in St. Ray’s land. They’re off to a good start.
Juanita Sanchez - Up two, and with plenty of preseason practice matches in prep. Why not JS?
Johnston - Have a loss, which feels more than any time last year.
To send season updates, stories, and players to consider…or inquire about coffee beans that Coach roasts himself, to Coach Reslow - Scott.Reslow@protonmail.com
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