Week One - Testing the Waters…
4/6/25
What a stretch of time for my heroes of cinema! Losing both Gene Hackman and Val Kilmer in such a short time period…geez, could Bruce Campbell and Harrison Ford be far behind? We need to protect Keanu Reeves at all costs. Wellness check for Arnold Schwarzenegger immediately! Tom Cruise looks the same, so he’s fine…but has anyone seen Michael Keaton recently? Yes, he looked dead in the second installment of Beetlejuice…but that was sort of the point in that one. God only know where Mel Gibson and Nick Cage are…which I kind of like. Chuck Norris!?! Chuck Norris will leave the mortal coil when he is damn good and ready!
With Hackman and Kilmer gone, all it tells me is that time marches on. The statement you hear in sports is true for life as well…father time is undefeated.
Hackman was a star for so long. Massively versatile and always stole the show in the movie he was in. I heard a podcast prepping for the new Superman movie coming out, and it delved into ranking the Superman movies…the first two were the first two…Donner films…and certainly plenty to do with Christopher Reeve’s portrayal, but almost more to do with Hackman’s Lex Luthor. It was Superman when I first saw him. Hoosiers when I first realized how awesome he was…Hackman was 55 when he made Hoosiers. He was 69 when he made The Replacements, the other movie that I fell in love with which featured him as a coach. There are so many films heightened by Hackman, it’s too much to go over here.
Kilmer was tremendous in a different way. I loved him in Willow. Madmartigan was my spirit animal when I was in high school. The Ice Man was the coolest foil ever…that volleyball scene is nothing short of epic no matter how you view it. Tombstone was supposed to be about Wyatt Earp, but it was really about Doc Holiday after Val entered the frame. “I was just foolin about…” “I wasn’t.” Heat is outstanding, Val’s batman underrated, and I can watch Top Secret at any moment in time. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is another great that gets overlooked. Lastly, nobody played Jim Morrison better then Val…seems a crime that Kilmer has left the building and there is a credible story out there that perhaps the real Jim Morrison faked his death and has been living in Rochester, NY for the last four decades.
Father Time comes for us all. So, it’s what you do with the time you have that matters. It’s the adventures you take, the people you befriend and move, the stories you make with your actions, that echo past your expiration date. It’s that idea that makes movies and shows timeless if they’re done correctly. Most of the swill that comes out now is unadulterated cash grabs that have no scope of the human condition…or worse, try to inject messages that run counter to it. Another way to look at it is that there is a reason why all of these actors remained at the top of the collective consciousness for entertainment…the stories they were involved in moved people. Noble goals and actions reverberate throughout time…so recognize the reaper is walking well behind you (and he will catch up) and with that in mind make each day your masterpiece (quick point to the sky to Coach Wooden) and help / serve as many people as you can in good faith. Then people will be moved and misty eyed when you exit stage left.
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Tyler Biddle - Lincoln - Pin - 12 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks, 13 digs @ Coventry : 19 kills, 14 digs vs. Pawtucket
Jackson Colton - Lincoln - Middle - 15 kills, 3 blocks, @ Coventry : 13 kills, 7 blocks vs. Pawtucket
Sebastian DeCubellis - Lincoln - Setter - 50 assists, 2 blocks, 5 digs, 3 aces @ Coventry : 47 assists vs. Tolman/Shea
Ashton Mak - Cranston West - Setter - 33 assists, 5 digs against East Greenwich : 30 assists, 5 blocks, 8 digs against East Providence : 40 assists, 10 digs, 3 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces vs. Chariho
Ziyue Wang - Cranston West - Pin - 15 kills, 8 digs, 3 blocks against East Greenwich : 10 kills 3 digs against Pilgrim : 12 kills, 4 digs against East Providence : 21 kills, 4 assists, 2 aces vs. Chariho
Rainen Paquet - East Greenwich - Setter - 40 assists vs. Cranston West
Aiden Huff - East Greenwich - Utility - 11 kills vs. Cranston West
Luke Moio - East Greenwich - Libero - 15 digs, 7 aces vs. Cranston West
Donny Park - Barrington - Pin - 16 kills, 5 aces, 9 digs vs. Juanita Sanchez
Cal Oberacker - Barrington - Pin - 15 kills, 6 digs vs. Juanita Sanchez
Logan Lane - Barrington - Setter - 28 assists, 5 aces, 6 digs vs. Juanita Sanchez
Jeremy Thao - West Warwick - Setter - 29 assists, 7 digs, 3 aces and a block against Woonsocket
AJ Kue - Achievement First - Setter - 8 assists, 5 kills, 3 aces against Burrillville
David Green - La Salle - Pin - 19 kills, 2 blocks at Coventry : 17 kills, 3 blocks at Cranston East
Jahmir Evans - La Salle - Pin - 11 kills, 7 digs at Coventry : 15 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 9 digs at Cranston East
Chris Benell - La Salle - Middle - 7 kills, 8 blocks at Coventry : 7 kills, 7 blocks at Cranston East
Charles Pincince - Cranston East - Pin - 12 kills, 5 aces vs. Barrington : 23 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks vs. La Salle
Caleb Xum - Cranston East - Setter - 32 assists vs. Barrington : 44 assists, 7 digs, 4 blocks vs. La Salle
Dennis Dixon - Cranston East - Middle - 7 kills, 4 blocks vs. Barrington : 9 kills, 9 blocks vs. La Salle
Jordan Rodriguez - East Providence - Pin - 15 kills, 12 digs against Cranston West
Brandon Mimande -East Providence - Pin - 16 kills, 14 digs against Cranston West
Ben Wright - South Kingstown - Setter - 15 assists, 5 aces against Woonsocket
Henry Kenyon - Westerly - Middle - 10 kills, 4 blocks vs. Johnston : 15 kills, 8 blocks at Mt. Hope
Nate Paciga - Westerly - Middle - 12 kills, 5 blocks vs. Johnston
John Barros - Lincoln - Libero - 30 digs against Pawtucket
Jack Casey - Portsmouth - Pin - 15 kills, 3 digs against Achievement First
Ben Warr - Bishop Hendricken - Setter - 33 assists, 9 kills, 3 aces, 3 blocks, 8 digs at Coventry
Andrew Ramos - Bishop Hendricken - Pin - 15 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks at Coventry
Zach Roebuck - Bishop Hendricken - Middle - 6 kills, 5 blocks at Coventry
Glen Andrade - Davies - Middle - 10 kills, 5 blocks, 7 aces against Burrillville
Landon (Marlon) Marland - Chariho - Pin - 14 kills, 12 digs, 4 blocks at East Greenwich : 19 kills, 13 digs at Cranston West
Jaxson Vachon - Chariho - Libero - 28 digs at East Greenwich : 19 digs, 3 aces at Cranston West
Stephen Buco - La Salle Academy - 34 assists, 7 digs at Cranston East
Carter Stolt - Chariho - Middle - 7 kills, 2 aces, 3 blocks at East Greenwich : 17 kills at Cranston West
Kasey Poplaski - Chariho - Setter - 31 assist, 3 kills, 5 digs at East Greenwich : 41 assists, 8 digs, 4 aces at Cranston West
Tyler Brayman - Westerly - Setter - 27 assists, 7 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks at Mt. Hope
Chase Wycall - Westerly - Pin - 15 kills, 2 blocks, 14 digs, 2 assists at Mt. Hope
Darien Peterson - Cranston East - Pin - 12 kills, 13 digs, 3 blocks vs. La Salle
Big Matches Coming Up…
4/7 - Bishop Hendricken at Barrington - 6:30pm
- Juanita Sanchez at Westerly - 6:30pm
4/8 - Cranston East at East Greenwich - 6:30pm
- Coventry at East Providence - 6:30pm
- Classical at LaSalle - 6:30pm
- Chariho at North Kingstown - 6:30pm
4/9 - Lincoln at Westerly - 6:30pm
4/10 - Cranston East at Classical - 6:30pm
- East Greenwich at Bishop Hendricken - 6:30pm
- LaSalle at North Kingstown - 6:30pm
- East Providence at Barrington - 6:30pm
4/11 - Cranston East at Coventry - 6:30pm
- Lincoln at Barrington - 6:30pm
- Westerly at Chariho - 6:30pm
The Tops…
Top Kill Guy on the Week – Charles Pincince – Sr. – Pin – Cranston East – 23 kills on La Salle
Top Dig Guy on the Week – John Barros - Sr. - Libero - Lincoln - 30 digs on Pawtucket
Top Assist Guy on the Week – Sebastian DeCubellis – Sr. – Setter - Lincoln – 50 assists on Coventry
Top Ace Guy on the Week – Glen Andrade – Jr. – Pin – Davies – 7 aces on Burrillville
Top Block Guy on the Week – Dennis Dixon – Sr. – Middle – 9 blocks on La Salle
ResV Team of the Week…
Pin – Tyler Biddle – Lincoln – Averaging 6.2 kills per set after two five set thrillers.
Pin - Ziyue Wang - Cranston West – Expectations for The CW were low, but Wang wasn’t hearing it. Amassed 58 kills on the week and a 3 – 1 record for his club.
Middle – Jackson Colton – Lincoln – 28 kills and 10 blocks in two matches…both vics.
Middle – Chris Benell – La Salle Academy – Has more blocks then kills…15 blocks, 14 kills…they call the position middle blocker for a reason.
Pin – David Green – La Salle Academy – He’s played 10 sets and has 36 kills. Hottest start of his career.
Setter - Ashton Mak - Cranston West – Has been superb to start the season, leading his team to the board and putting up 40 assists on Chariho.
Libero - Jaxon Vachon – Chariho – Two matches on the week…his 28 digs made the difference in a very contested match at EG.
Utility – Andrew Ramos – Bishop Hendricken – Has made the move to pin and looked pretty darn good. 21 points in his first outing!
ResV Top 15…
1. +1 North Kingstown (1 – 0) – With only one match to show in week one, the Skippers made the most of it as they tattooed East Greenwich at home. Skippers got their usual level from Cody Tow and Ryan Rathbun, while getting excellent work in the middle from Connor Valois and Sean Peters. They didn’t need much from Ryan Harrington on the night and Evan Shea was sure handed in a lot of the setting duties. It’s not a large sample size for the Skippers, but it does rocket them to the top and projects dangerous waters for all who dare.
2. +2 Bishop Hendricken (1 – 0) – The Oakers upset LaSalle, so there was plenty of thought that Hendricken might be in trouble visiting Coventry in week one. Apparently not. Though shaky in set one, the Hawks didn’t mess around after that. Ben Warr had a ridiculous stat line, see ResV player of the week, and Andrew Ramos looked right at home on the pin. Zach Roebuck is going to be solid in the middle and Ryan Yin hit .500. Strong start for the Hawks to be sure.
3. –2 La Salle Academy (1 – 1) – Rams drop two in the rankings, but I have a feeling that it’ll be a long time before they get upset again. Losing to Coventry in five was mildly shocking. The first match of the season is always an adventure, and the Oaker palace is not an easy place to play. They were missing a piece, but Coventry certainly outdueled them regardless. The key, however, was they went to Cranston East’s barn and stunned the Bolts. In both matches, David Green was tough to stop. Jahmir Evans is shaking some of the rust off, but he’s only going to get better. The best surprise is the blocking from Chris Bennell. If he can keep shutting down oppenent’s angles, lots of good things are going to happen.
4. –1 Cranston East (1 – 1) – The loss to La Salle at home hurts a bunch. One can’t be on a revenge tour if one does not get revenge. The thinking was that CE had the advantage in some key areas and La Salle would struggle to stop them. This did not happen, so it feels like almost a back to the drawing board situation for the mean green. Some tough love now… Pincince is still the go-to guy on the pin while Xum is still the most polished setter in the land…but the team needs to serve tougher. Pincince has a cannon at the service line…let em rip! Xum, Kevin Yeth, Jordan Frisone, and Sam Riviera can all serve darts…they need to do so. Dennis Dixon can’t block everything, so it’s key the team is serving tough enough to give Dennis, and the front line, an idea where the ball is going to go. From there, transition offense needs to be emphasized. Fix those two items and the revenge tour can get back on track. If not, enjoy the semis.
5. +2 Classical (2 – 0) – I’m still unsure how good this Purple team is. Certainly, I’m eager to get a larger sample of their play. I will say that this crew has done their job early. With wins over Central, and more importantly, East Providence, Classical has set the tone. Ian Nascimento and Jacob Agramonte are scoring, and the rest of the crew is doing their part to be successful…which is what it’s all about. There is this idea out there that you need top-tier players to win. No question that helps the cause. However, the real secret sauce is having a couple of horses, and then the rest of the crew accepting their roles and doing it at a top tier level. You get that going, and it’s very hard to topple your momentum.
6. Barrington (2 – 1) – It didn’t look good at Cranston East, but the other two outings looked the part. Donny Park and Cal Oberacker are doing the job on the pins, while Logan Lane is dishing them the rock. The questions is…can they stop anyone in the upper levels of the state. Cranston East teed off on them…plus the Mean Green were able to slow down the Eagle offense considerably. Figuring out how to be dynamic when most know where the ball is going is an art form and the Eagles need to hone their craft a little more. Passing the ball well doesn’t hurt either.
7. [New] Cranston West (3 – 1) – Batman Forever has a line uttered by Jim Carey, as the Riddler, where he tells Tommy Lee Jones, Two Face, that his entrance was good, but Batman’s entrance was better. The same applies here…Portsmouth’s entrance was good, but Cranston West’s was better when it comes to getting on the ResV board. I’ll say it, I didn’t have a thought about The CW coming into this season. Here we are, however, with Ziyue Wang putting up huge numbers and Ashton Mak leading a team of guys we’ve yet to learn about. Dropping their first match at EG appeared to me the marker, but since then they’ve knocked out Pilgrim, East Providence, and Chariho! Any team going to the nest must be warry, because The CW is not messing around, no matter what you’ve heard.
8. +2 Lincoln (2 – 0) – The Lions have two things going for them. They love to play volleyball and they love to play volleyball. They nipped Coventry in five to start out the season. Real good stuff there. Then they survived Pawtucket in five…perhaps wanted a quicker result on that one. Now, it doesn’t matter how you get the result just that you get it…however, you play only five set thrillers and you’re going to be very tired and beat up come playoff time. For now, those Lions just love to play volleyball. Jackson Colton and Tyler Biddle are off to great starts and Sebastian DeCubellis is setting the table nicely. Just need to put teams away quicker and I think you have to think that Lincoln has the inside track to D2 gold.
9. –4 East Providence (1 – 2) – I’m a big fan of Epic Rap Battles of History. 90% of their content is top tier. They did one featuring Indiana Jones vs. Lara Croft which Jones starts off asking the question, “You used to be the queen of booby trapping? What happened?” It’s the emphatic “What happened?” that comes to mind here. EP has horses. They also have a great home barn to do work in, which is where their singular win occurred. Now, I think they’ll bounce back and be a headache for everyone…especially in the second half of the season. For now, it’s mildly surprising that they’re off to a rocky start. Jordan Rodriguez, Brandon Mimande, and Naya Philip need to bring a consistent scoring that minimizes errors, which all three are more then capable of doing. Make less errors, generate more kills, tighten the ship on serving and away they’ll should go.
10. –1 Chariho (1 – 1) – I’m interested to see which way the Charger’s season goes this year. I mean, I guess one could argue that I’m like that with every team in Rhode Island that’s on the top 15 ResV list. Chariho does have a special place in my heart, though. When I was scrambling as a young high school coach, I had a year where I was coaching boys and girls volleyball at East Greenwich High School and then also boys basketball at Chariho. I loved my time at Chariho. Kids were hardworking and great. Parents were massively supportive. At the time, the team was in the top league, so we faced a lot of adversity, but we battled. Lost a lot of games, but competitive in 90% of them and the kids were upbeat through the whole season. Chariho has always been a special breed. Hard working kids who just show up and fight. The best kids to coach. I was only with the Chargers for year, as JWU would hire me after that singular season…but I loved the place, and I still like going back to see games and matches. Anyway, this year’s club is full of intrigue. I like Marlon (Landon Marland) on the pin, Carter Stolt is my spirit animal, and Jaxon Vachon gives you maximum effort night in and night out. The loss to The CW hurts, but the Falcons have stunned EP already too…but yeah…I’d like to see Chariho put it together as the league is always better with Chariho doing Chariho things.
11. Westerly (2 – 0) – Bulldogs unite! Westerly is Chariho but further out…which I think is kind of funny. People in Rhode Island talk about how Westerly is practically Connecticut…so far out there. I grew up in Pennsylvania. It took a 45 minute drive just to get to the grocery store! I just heard all the Rhode Islanders gasp! Anyway, Westerly is a great drive and their team is pretty interesting this year. First and foremost, I’ll be a fan of any team Nate Paciga is on. Kid is passionate about the game, works his tail off, and has been a great teammate on every team I’ve seen him on. His teammate, Henry Kenyon, is a solid talent in the volleyball world and can take over a game from the middle. There are also other flourishing players on this Bulldog side…Chase Wycall and Tyler Brayman come to mind. So, Westerly and Lincoln are both two up and no down…I wonder if this is a playoff match in the future?
12. –4 East Greenwich (1 – 2) – Avengers drop, but they’re another case of it would probably not be such a large drop if it hadn’t of been for Cranston West’s rise on the board. What makes it sort of not cool, is they beat Cranston West…but then The CW handled both Chariho and EP and the fall on the board was secured. First, you throw out the NK match. NK at NK is always brutal. Few have gone to the Forge and come out of top. Secondly, yes the Chariho loss at home hurts, but on further inspection, the scores showed that it was hotly contested. Could the Avengers split with Chariho? Sure, but their barn is hard, so improvements must be made. Taking care of the ball, especially when things are in your favor, is a great place to start. It’s doable to be sure. If Zach Gessman and Aidan Huff can lead their team to just one or two less errors a night collectively, EG will be in decent shape…though the need for an upset victory in the league begins to loom in week two.
13. Coventry (1 – 2) – The Oakers have a single win…but it’s a large one. Hosting the Rams at the Palace, Coventry was able to wrangle a five-set win over the defending champs…shocking the league. Masiah Prak-Preaster did work, as did Cam Marcotte, Cam Dotter, and others. Now, with all that being said, Coventry did drop a five-setter to Lincoln to kick off the season, which was a little surprising. Then, they hosted Hendricken and lost in four pretty handily. So, the question becomes, which Coventry team is going to show up night in and night out? Clearly, it’s in there as defeating La Salle is no easy trick…ask Cranston East. However, the hiccup with Lincoln and the tough outing with Hendricken leaves some questions. Week two will give us more clarity, I’m sure.
14. [New] Portsmouth (3 – 0) – The Patriots are on the board! Unlike their girls volleyball team counterparts, this is some new ground for the new (ish) program. They’re off to a fast start and there are good things being said about their play across the league. Sean Wilkey leads the charge for this Portsmouth side. Wilkey, a senior, is a pin that has bounce and can put the ball away. Junior John Casey, is the middle, is playing himself into a college prospect. The legendary Ben Lind compared him to Tom Matchett, the first team all-stater last year from North Smithfield. So, it’ll be interesting to see how this Portsmouth side navigated the D3 waters. Something tells me they’re the favorite to take it all home.
15. –3 Pawtucket (0 – 1) – These co-ops are something I’m not necessarily a fan of. I get it, some schools have very little interest, so combining schools to field a team makes some sense. However, I like the name Tolman and God only knows what the mascot is for Pawtucket… For some reason my brain is screaming the Pawtucket Petes, which makes zero sense. Look, losing to Lincoln in five is not a three step drop, but sometimes it can be due to the situation, which I explained in the East Greenwich write up. This match shows that Pawtucket is still a threat even though they moved up a level and Coach Bevilacqua is off to a new state. Fernando Baptista is in his senior year and still dishing the cards, while Jean-Lucas Barroso is doing his thing on the defensive end and Hayson Ortiz is back for another round of pin work. It’ll be interesting to see how this new Pawtucket side handles the rigors of D2 life…they already scared one of the favorites!
Receiving Votes… Central Falls, Mt. Hope, Central, Juanita Sanchez
ResV Player of the Week…
Week One - Ben Warr - Bishop Hendricken – 33 assists, 9 kills, 3 aces, 3 blocks, and 8 digs. That is a stat line! Warr put those numbers up on Coventry, who the match before upset La Salle Academy. In the 91 points scored for Hendricken in the four-set win, Warr had a hand in 48 of them…which is more then half! If you consider that generally in a four-set match, the opponent is going to give you roughly 10 service errors, probably another 10, at least, hitting errors, and perhaps 2 or 3 random errors (net violations, out of rotations, etc.)…so we’ll say 23 points from the opponent…this means that there were only 20 points in the match that Ben Warr didn’t have anything to do with scored by Hendricken.
ResV Honorable Baller of the Week…
Week One – Nate Paciga – Westerly – I’m a big Paciga fan. Great guy, hard worker, and genuinely awesome teammate. If there was an honorable baller out there ever, it is Nate Paciga. Thus, I was stoked to see him put up 12 kills and 5 blocks on Johnston as his Westerly Bulldogs got the opening day win.
Playoff Races Through Week One…
Division One:
North Kingstown – Looked strong and capable in their only match.
Bishop Hendricken – Ditto to NK.
LaSalle Academy – Upset by Coventry, may have woken them up as they took down CE at the Bolt’s barn!
Cranston East – Dismantled Barrington but couldn’t do the job at home over La Salle.
Division Two:
Lincoln – Beat Coventry in five…then barely beat Pawtucket in five. Still the team to beat in D2.
Westerly – Have some pieces to the puzzle and are off to a decent start.
Pawtucket – Scared Lincoln which may put them in confidence for the rest of the conference.
Central Falls – Off to a rocky start, but when complete, still have arguably one of the most talented players in the state.
Division Three:
Portsmouth - Hot start with great play puts them on the board and at the top of D3.
Mt. Hope – Strong start with an eye toward what they can do when seeing the Patriots.
Achievement First – Best start in program history! (Started their program last year…)
St. Raphael’s – Got the first one under their belt.
ResV Coaching Tip of the Week:
Take the time to really focus on the service line with your team. In the men’s game, it’s essential that you serve tough. So, what does serving tough actually mean? It can mean overpowering your opponent with jump top serves, but not everyone has that type of server in their gym. If you do, awesome! Cultivate and nurture those guys and do not be afraid to let them rip serves in matches…even with multiple errors. Certainly, have a line that once crossed (amount of errors), you pull back on the reigns and pivot to just getting serves in, but let them rip. If you don’t have those guys, where you actual serve matters. Now, one more caveat…if you’re coaching a team that cannot get the ball over the net or puts up monumental amount of serving errors, then absolutely focus on just getting the ball in the field of play. However, if you have competent enough serving, think about where the ball is to go. It’s easy to just pick the worst passer and just go at him. However, I challenge you to go beyond that. Teach your guys to serve where clumps are, where the middle is pinned, short to take away an option or an approach… Remember, you block better when the variables are trimmed down. Thus, if you serve right past a middle’s head…he bails on his route, maybe gets in the way of a pin’s approach, there is no BIC, so the only option is setting the left…now your blockers know it’s going to the left and all three go early, set the block well, get the huge hood for point! Then you do it again and again. Delicious!
ResV Player Tip of the Week:
I watch a lot of film on volleyball and the number one thing I point out is how hard a player works, or doesn’t work, to get an approach. It could be the single most important indicator on whether the player will get a kill or not. Of course, most good high school volleyball players (and college for that matter) love watching high level games. They’ll see Nikolov at Long Beach, get a rare set and without an approach take a big rip and score. Gentlemen, he is 6’9 and the next evolution of volleyball. You are not Nikolov. In fact, no one is Nikolov except Nikolov and that’s sort of the point of why he can do it and no one else should. Work stupidly hard, every…single…time…for an approach (even if you think you won’t get set) and lots of good things are going to happen. I promise you. Nikolov probably promises you, too.
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!
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