Week One - It’s Warm at the Start…
9/11/23
You know it’s going to be an interesting season when the first week gets scrambled due to 90 degree plus weather! In fact, the whole Thursday docket, for many their first match of the season, was rescheduled as the majority of gyms in the state do not have air conditioning…not to get too crazy here, but how any school or gym does not have controlled climate is beyond me…way more deserving of tax dollars and private funds then a lot of other things. I’ll step off my soap box now and get to the heart of the matter…I think this season is going to be delightful.
Seasons, campaigns, schedules are often best when they contain characters and story arcs and this season has it up and down the levels. North Kingstown is the team that feels the most complete…so everyone is gunning for them. La Salle, Portsmouth, Coventry, and South Kingstown will undoubtedly beat each other senseless to get that second spot in hopes of having the best angle to take down the mighty Skippers. Outside runners will include East Greenwich, maybe Prout, who knows? Point is, I think there is a a good overall story here about to unfold and it’s only D1!
D2 has the arms race of East Providence and Cumberland with Barrington and say, Middletown, in the mix as well. But even then, who knows? D2 has 16 teams in it, including last year’s D3 champs, Bay View, and perennial hard outs like St. Raphael’s, Johnston, EWG, Westerly, and Mt. Hope. Especially in the first week, it’s anyone’s game and the goal is to create a squad that serves as tough as possible and build from there.
In D3 land, it looks like Toll Gate may have the pieces to the puzzle while quality coached teams like Scituate are always dangerous. Narragansett will have their opportunities as well and I’d love to see the Block Island team make a run. Consequently, should Tolman make a go of it, what a storyline it’d be for both teams from Pawtucket making it to the finals in the same year! It’ll also be interesting to see how Central Falls does now that the Joanna Rodrigues era is over.
Lastly, I think D4 mimics D1 in the sense that Providence Country Day plays the role of North Kingstown in this play. PCD dominated last year and their goal is to pick up where they left off. Mt. Pleasant and Shea should give chase and Blackstone Valley may be in the mix as well.
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Lindsay Molis (Cumberland) - 21 kills while hitting a .440 vs. Chariho
Jules White (Chariho) - 15 kills, 2 aces, 11 digs @ Cumberland — 14 kills, 4 aces, and 8 digs vs. Fitch
Kaylee Bradley (Cumberland) - 44 assists vs. Chariho
Lexi Cole (Chariho) - 40 assists, 3 aces, 4 kills @ Cumberland — 28 assists, 8 digs vs. Mount Saint Charles
Brennah Abilheira-Cargill (Cumberland) - 26 digs vs. Chariho
Selly Garcia (Tolman) - 7 aces, 8 kills, 3 digs against Ponaganset
Lyla Auth (Westerly) - 8 aces, 13 assists, 3 kills, and 5 digs vs. Pilgrim
Emma Carracciolo (Westerly) - 9 aces vs. Pilgrim
Lana Koolian (Providence Country Day) - 12 aces vs. Hope
Taliyah Pereira (Classical) - 15 kills, hit a .344, and had 13 digs @ Coventry
Harmony Forrest (Classical) - 14 kills, 3 aces, and 7 digs @ Coventry
Maisey Naff (La Salle) - 15 kills at Cumberland
Abby Crowley (La Salle) - 25 assists at Cumberland
Isabella McCoombs (Exeter-West Greenwich) - 8 aces vs. Cumberland
Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth) - 28 assists, 10 digs and 4 aces hosting South Kingstown
Sierra Thompson (South Kingstown) - 6 blocks, 5 kills at Portsmouth
Hailey Labonte (Portsmouth) - 18 kills, 6 digs, and 3 aces vs. South Kingstown
Alex Spinella (South Kingstown) - 26 assists, 2 aces, and 2 kills at Portsmouth
Avery Pelletier (Portsmouth) - 10 kills, 8 digs, and 4 aces vs. South Kingstown
Kasey Dillon (Barrington) - 7 kills, 5 aces vs. Lincoln
ResV Player of the Week (1) - Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth) - Some solid choices for ResV Player of the week. Could easily go to Lindsay Molis who put up the 21 spot on Chariho in the opener or Hailey Labonte who diced up SK for 18. Add Taliyah Pereira for Classical who nabbed 15 kills on the road against Coventry or Jules White who has done absolute work in her first week of her senior season. All deserving…however this week we’re going to go with Mediate. Mediate makes everyone around her better and absolutely aided in Pelletier and Labonte having huge matches against one of the top teams in the state…with 28 assists, nabbing 10 digs, plus darting four aces.
North Kingstown (0 - 0) - Defending champs get their sole match postponed due to weather, so week two will begin their tale. Rumors out of camp is that the Skippers are looking solid and are ready to go to work. Skippers will now open up with West Warwick and Portsmouth in week two.
[↑ 2] Coventry (2 - 0) - The Oakers have the only two match win week of the top five here in the opener. Coventry hosted a very game Classical side to start the season and found themselves in a five-set debacle. It took a lot of swings from Liv Rollinson to help sort that one out. Following the Classical win, the Oakers hosted the Rams of La Salle and dealt a shocking four-set defeat to a Rams side that has title aspirations. Once again, Rollinson was leaned on to get the result along with Abby Spadoni and Addison Patrick. The Oakers have a lot of the puzzle pieces and have plenty of experience on the floor which could spell tough times for the majority of their opponents. Mount Saint Charles and Cranston East are next.
[↑ 2] Portsmouth (1 - 0) - The haunted gymnasium continues to cause top teams to fall…or more likely the team that calls the castle home is the issue. None the less, the Patriots hosted the Rebels of South Kingstown on Friday and Caitlin Mediate and crew gave SK the treatment. Serving tough and grinding out points, Hailey Labonte and Avery Pelletier get 28 kills together and the duo plus Mediate generated 11 aces, overwhelming South Kingstown. Home dominance will be key, but the real test of the season will be Portsmouth’s record on the road which starts next week at the Mountain Top of La Salle.
[↓ 2] La Salle (1 - 1) - The Rams drop two spots as La Salle, though early, feels off to a challenging start. Sweeping Cumberland is fine and was a good tune up for the regular season, however, going into Oaker land and making too many errors and taking the early loss was mildly eyebrow raising. Coventry is an early top five team, and the match was on the road, so it’s not out of the blue that struggles would come there, however sometimes it’s the type of errors that bring concern. Abby Crowley wasn’t given many good passes to work with, while Maisey Naff’s volume of swings was the highest she’s seen. Both Crowley and Naff are major factors in the success of the Rams and will put up bigger numbers as things get ironed out. La Salle also has one of the tougher starts to a season schedule wise as Portsmouth and Prout are next followed by South Kingstown the following week.
[↓ 2] - South Kingstown (0 - 1) - The Rebels traveled to the haunted castle of Portsmouth and were turned away in four. Granted two of the frames went into stoppage time, and all sets were above 20 points, so it was your average two top teams playing ball. Still, it’s an early loss and Alex Spinella and Sierra Thompson will look to get to the winning column in week two as they see both Prout and West Warwick. Nothing like some home cooking to right the ship after a loss. Even in the setback, Thompson had 6 blocks and Spinella had 26 assists. Connecting in the middle more will certainly be a goal and from there SK will just continue to build.
[↑ 1] East Providence (2 - 0) - The Townies are off to the start that was planned. Handing out three-set losses to Scituate and Cranston West with four of the six sets holding their opponents below the Mendoza Line (in this instance this means below 20 points), EP has to like where they’re heading. Interestingly enough, while watching the tape of EP / Cranston West, it was fun to see Kiera Mullen setting in the backrow and attacking in the front row. It’s a strategic formation that asks a lot from the player, but when you have a talented player that can pull it off it can be very effective. This modified 6 / 2 will allow three players attacking in the front row at all times which generally poses issues for teams. An early premier matchup with Barrington followed by a date with Rogers is up next.
[↑ 1] Cumberland (2 - 1) - The Clippers have decided they’re going to cause some noise this year. No better way to do that than upended last year’s champs at the D2 level, who basically had everyone back, and then play a top five D1 school to a three-set, but respectful, loss. All good things, and when they opened up their league play with a solid win over Exter-West Greenwich, there were plenty of smiles around. Now, with all that being said, things will get hairy when they play East Providence and we’ll get a better understanding of the decibel level they’re capable of. Until then, the emergence of Lindsay Molis as a premier arm in D2 and the continued high level of Brennah Abilheira-Cargill at the Libero position bodes well for the future…a future that has North Smithfield and Westerly next.
[↓ 2] Chariho (2 - 1) - The Chargers fall two slots early, mainly on the five-set loss to Cumberland, which undoubtingly was a wakeup call for a team that came off a championship last season. Cumberland wanted to see Chariho in the finals last year, but lost to EP in the semis, so this match was pretty huge for the Clips. Chariho, in the meantime, moved up to D1 and perhaps the date with Cumberland, a D2 foe, wasn’t as exciting. Who knows? Past that, Chariho dispatched Mount Saint Charles and Fitch in three sets. With all three matches in the books, the Chargers are getting huge numbers out of Jules White on the pin. Add the solid play from Lexi Cole at the setter position and quality middle play from Katja Nelson and there is no question the Chargers are here to play in D1. They get East Greenwich and Classical next to test their level.
[↑ 1] East Greenwich (1 - 0 ) - The Avengers move up one with a solid outing against Cranston East. Keeping the Bolts below 20 points in all three sets is good work and the emergence of Gabriela Jackson on the Opposite will pay dividends toward EG’s offensive potency. Hannah Gaffney is on her way to making a name for herself at the Libero position as she was practically flawless in this match. Granted the level will get tougher, but the Avengers have to be happy with this start…though an injury to starting setter Amanda Duke does put a slight damper on it. Brianna Hartman may be the projected next setter up if Duke can’t go. Avengers see Chariho and Mount Saint Charles next as they climb the ladder.
[↓ 1] Classical (0 - 1) - The Purple traveled to Oaker land and gave Coventry a scare! Losing in five and playing some solid volleyball doesn’t usually drop you a ranking point, but there is always lots of movement in the beginning of the year. This team is intriguing. Harmony Forrest and Taliyah Pereira can score in bunches and Deanna Baez is running a decent offense at the setter position. As with most teams, passing efficiency and effectiveness in out of system situations will tell the tale on how far they can go, however, they’re going to be a tough out night in and night out. Cranston East and Chariho get to see Purple in week two.
Middletown (0 - 0) - The Islanders take week one as their bye week and are on to week two where they’ll open up with Exeter-West Greenwich and Bay View Academy.
Barrington (1 - 0) - Eagles host the Lincoln Lions and treat them like Lincoln Logs…terrible joke, I know, but I couldn’t help myself. Kasey Dillon led the way with seven kills and five aces while Emma McCrann added twelve digs and six aces. Eleven aces between two players is a lot, which says either Lincoln is having trouble on the passing side of the game or Barrington is serving pretty darn tough. As with most answers in the world, it’s probably a little of both. None the less, a good start for the Eagles. Week two, we’ll learn more of what Barrington is all about as they travel to East Providence to see a Townie squad that takes no prisoners.
Mount Saint Charles (1 - 1) - Well, the new era starts off with mixed results. Hosting Lincoln, the Mounties were able to manage a clean sweep and get Coach Gould’s first win of his career. Then, they headed to the cave to deal with Chariho on the road. The Chargers had just lost a five-setter to former D2 foe Cumberland and were none to happy about it. Thus, MSC saw a very motivated Chariho side and the brooms came out for them. Still the Mounties did battle and two frames went into overtime so it’s not like the wheels came off…just the wrong place, wrong time type of situation. Maya Solecki led her side in kills while Sophia Baeta tallied the most digs. Hosting the Oakers at home next may not help the cause…seeing EG at the castle following gives a truly tough week.
Bay View Academy (0 - 0) - The Bengals take week one as their bye week and are on to week two where they’ll open up with Johnston and Middletown…two tough outs.
Providence Country Day (1 - 0) - Knights hosted Hope in a rematch of last year’s D4 final. I’m here to report that there was no change in the result. PCD looked pretty good and were able to handle Hope in straight sets. Lana Kooloian registered…checks notes…twelve aces while Ada Wetherby contributed six aces. That’s a lot of aces… Should the Knights continue to serve with that type of ace efficiency then it’s going to be very tough to beat them. Mt. Pleasant will attempt to cool them off next, followed by Shea…both projected playoff teams…
Receiving Votes… Narragansett, Prout, Toll Gate, Johnston, St. Raphael’s
ResV Player of the Week…
Week 1 - Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth)
Playoff Races Through Week One…
Division One…
North Kingstown - Ready to go, but the weather said no.
Coventry - Taking out La Salle was big in week one. Can Rollinson keep taking 30 swings a night?
Portsmouth - Beating SK was huge. Have something with the trio of Mediate, Labonte, and Pelletier.
La Salle - Little bit of a regroup coming, but still have lots of depth to connect with. Will need to pass a tic better.
South Kingstown - Lost in the toughest gym to play in. Will need Thompson to get 8 kills or more a night.
Division Two…
East Providence - Moddy 6/2 is fun and highlights Mullen’s skill.
Cumberland - Got to keep Molis on the floor in big matches. Brennah taking half the court helps too.
Barrington - Dispatching Lincoln at home is a good start.
Mt. Hope - Nipping Rogers at their barn is a solid feat for an opener.
Division Three…
Toll Gate - The Titans looks the part thus far and keeping a Central team below 20 in all three sets is a tone setter.
Scituate - Lost in three to EP, but that’s just the warm-up. Hard to no inlcude any Luis Carvalho team, especially this early.
Tolman - Pawtucket getting an early win against Woonsocket sets the foundation.
Narragansett - Sitting coiled and ready to strike!
Block Island - Would love to see BI in the mix…I’m absolutely here for it!
Division Four…
Providence Country Day - Defending champs rock Hope in a revisit to last year’s final.
Mt. Pleasant - Times 2 victory sets the stage.
Blackstone Valley - League opening win against Davies at home may springboard a run.
Shea - Going to North Providence and getting the clean sweep gets the party started.
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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