Week One - Townies Make Early Statement at the Starting Line…
9/8/24
I listen to a lot of Philosophers.
My commute to campus is roughly 40 minutes to an hour so I often find myself putting on a podcast, or a video to listen to, that feature either current day theorists, idealists, or pundits…or I put on a program that talks about philosophy of the past. There is a reason for this…and it’s not just because I’m old.
A lot of it has to do with trying to understand how people before, and now, deal with this life thing. It became more urgent for me when I recognized that today’s world, especially in entertainment, has become quite nihilistic. The problem with nihilism, to me, is though initially seeming cool, it quickly slides down into this idea that nothing in this world is worth working for or is good, so the only thing left on the table is instant gratification. That is dangerous to the development of self, of team, and of future knowledge gained.
A quick example is your phone, which provides instant dopamine hits and is easy to manipulate. Being good at volleyball, creating a team that is successful, winning lots of matches is not easy. There is a reason coaches ban phones from practice. Dopa hit after dopa hit actually drops focus and takes away drive. It also leaves people frustrated, often times overly so, when things do not go their way in a match. Look, I’m no fool, phones are not going away any time soon (and in this brief opener, they’re just an example)…but I am sort of advocating for a return to faith in a nihilistic world.
Faith and religion are over intertwined and rightfully so. I’m not looking to go there per se. Moreso, I’m interesting is bringing up the John Wooden type of faith, meaning believing that things will unravel the way they are supposed to. I use this pillar of thought in most of the teams I coach. “Hey, we’re going to work hard, be dedicated, sacrifice, communicate honestly and in a timely manner, build trust and do our best not to betray it, and lastly, have faith that things will go the way they are supposed to.” It’s an important concept that leads to the idea that all good things are marathons, not instant, and should you do the work each day, things will go the way they are supposed to, but our routinely interaction is required. That daily work, sacrifice, etc. is good and will lead to more meaningful rewards than instant gratification…and is the proof that though plenty of humans will try to convince you otherwise, mainly because pain and suffering exist and are an unavoidable part of the human condition…it’s a beautiful world and what you do with your time on it matters deeply. Besides, it’s entirely more noble to come out the other end of tragedy and sorrow, past grief and bewilderment, with love, courage, philanthropy, and an adventurous spirit…
So, do cool things, help your fellow man, and don’t settle for instant pleasure. Deal in good faith and admit fault when you stray out of line. Go be the hero in your story and impress us all with your adventures, hard work, sacrifices, and things you learn. Make your ancestors proud and set the example for your future kin that there is meaning in this life and your work is a huge part of that meaning. And…the beauty of it all is that you can apply this to everything…including volleyball.
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Caitlin Mediate - Setter/Pin - Portsmouth - 7 aces, 4 kills, 19 digs and 17 assists vs. EG : 35 assists, 19 digs, 3 aces, and 2 kills at Coventry
Hailey Labonte - Pin - Portsmouth - 19 kills, 12 digs, and 2 aces vs. EG : 15 kills, 21 digs at Coventry
Lily Bell - Setter - Coventry - 21 assists and 15 digs vs. Portsmouth
Tara Dacey - Pin - Coventry - 7 kills, 6 aces, and 11 digs vs. Portsmouth
Sophia Champagne - Setter - Portsmouth - 21 assists, 4 aces, and 2 digs vs. EG
Addison Fain - Middle - East Greenwich - 6 kills and 5 blocks vs. Portsmouth
Grace Lottich - Pin - East Greenwich - 6 kills, 4 aces vs. Portsmouth
Keira Mullen - Pin/Setter - East Providence - 8 kills, 7 aces, 8 assists and 2 blocks vs. SK
Eliza Vest - Pin - East Providence - 6 kills, 10 digs and 3 aces vs. SK
Tess LeFrenier - Pin - North Kingstown - 9 kills, 2 blocks, and an ace at Chariho
Syd Henson - Setter - North Kingstown - 19 assists at Chariho
Kayleigh Garrepy - Middle - North Kingstown - 7 kills, 3 blocks, and an ace at Chariho
Lillian Baxter - Middle - Chariho - 3 kills, 6 blocks vs. North Kingstown
Erin O’Leary - Pin - Chariho - 6 kills, 16 digs, 2 blocks vs. North Kingstown
Jett Cronin - Libero - Prout - 26 digs and 4 aces against Cranston West
Olivia Torok - Pin - Prout - 9 kills, 2 aces, and 10 digs against Cranston West
Olivia Venagro - Setter/Pin - 12 kills, 15 assists and 5 aces against Prout
Nina Piotti - Pin - Cumberland - 13 kills vs. EWG
Sophia Pires - Libero - Cumberland - 18 digs vs. EWG
Goddiss Santos - Libero - St. Rays - 20 digs and 9 aces against Davies : 17 digs against PCD
Mackenzie Marcoux - Setter/Pin - North Smithfield - 5 kills, 3 aces, 3 digs, and 11 assists against Bay View
Sophia Majeau - Pin - North Smithfield - 8 kills, 4 aces, 5 digs against Bay View
Aidan Reilly - Pin - Middletown - 14 kills, 13 digs, 4 aces vs. Mt. Hope
Olivia Kestler - Setter - Middletown - 23 assists, 5 kills, 5 aces vs. Mt. Hope
Jasmine Marks - Middle - Middletown - 8 kills vs. Mt. Hope
Maighan Parsley - Libero Middletown - 7 aces against Rodgers
Cailin Callaghan - Middle - Middletown - 6 aces against Rodgers
Sara Wilcox - Pin - Mt. Hope - 8 kills, 9 digs vs. Middletown
Gianna Lunney - Pin/Setter - 12 assists, 4 blocks, 4 aces vs. Middletown
Sofia D’Agostino - Libero - LaSalle Academy - 8 aces, 11 digs at Coventry : 4 aces, 5 digs at Classical
Madison Belanger - Pin - LaSalle Academy - 3 kills, 6 aces at Coventry
Maisy Naff - Pin - LaSalle Academy - 9 kills at Coventry : 11 kills, 7 aces at Classical
Mary Adeniyi - Middle - Tolman - 8 kills, 8 aces, 5 digs against Tiverton
Davina Kodua - Setter - Tolman - 9 kills, 19 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces against Tiverton
Alexis Korus - Pin - Chariho - 8 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces vs. Westerly
Davina Kodua - Setter - Tolman - 18 assists, 5 kills, 3 aces against West Warwick
Emma McCrann - Pin - Barrington - 17 kills, 6 aces, 12 digs at Cumberland
Claudia Leonard - Pin - Barrington - 12 kills at Cumberland
Morgan Martin - Libero - Barrington - 9 aces, 9 digs, 10 assists at Cumberland
Sophia Denham - Setter - Barrington - 25 assists, 7 aces, 5 digs at Cumberland
Peyton Winn - Middle - Mt. Hope - 4 kills, 5 blocks against Prout
Lyla Auth - Utility - Westerly - 10 kills, 7 assists, 5 digs, and 3 aces @ Chariho : 17 assists, 10 kills, 5 aces against Fitch
Ella Reyes - Pin - Westerly - 11 kills, 2 blocks against Fitch
Ella Keegan - Pin - Westerly - 11 kills against Fitch
Gianna Piker - Pin - Middletown - 5 kills, 5 aces against Mt. Hope
Sarah Crowley - Pin - Cranston West - 9 kills and 2 blocks against EWG
Mia Crudale - Libero - Cranston West - 12 digs and 4 aces against EWG
Kealyn Pearson - Pin - Exeter/West Greenwich - 13 kills against Cranston West
Hayleigh Korzeniowski - Pin - Tiverton - 13 kills, 4 aces and 11 digs against Tolman
Olivia Rodrigues - Libero - Tiverton - 8 aces and 19 digs against Tolman
Sayler Ouellette - Setter - Tiverton - 16 assists and 7 aces against Tolman
Arianys Garo-Rios - Pin - Hope - 10 kills, 3 blocks, and 3 aces against Blackstone Valley
Alivia Bastien - Middle - Hope - 11 kills and 5 blocks against Blackstone Valley
Angeline Pardo - Utility - Hope - 10 aced and 5 digs against Blackstone Valley
Big Matches Coming up…
9/9/24 - Coventry hosting East Greenwich - 6:30pm
9/9/24 - Chariho at LaSalle - 6:30pm
9/9/24 - South Kingstown hosting North Kingstown - 6pm
9/10/24 - Blackstone Valley at Toll Gate - 6:30pm
9/10/24 - Narragansett hosts Scituate - 6pm
9/11/24 - East Providence at Barrington - 6:30pm
9/11/24 - Mt. Hope hosting Portsmouth - 6pm
9/11/24 - Cumberland hosting East Greenwich - 6:30pm
9/12/24 - North Kingstown at LaSalle - 6:30pm
9/12/24 - North Smithfield hosting Tolman - 6:30pm
9/12/24 - Chariho at Middletown - 6pm
9/12/24 - St. Rays at Toll Gate - 6:30pm
ResV Team of the Week…
Pin- Emma McCrann - Jr. - Barrington - The Eagles had a clean sheet week and McCrann went off on Cumberland for 17 kills and 6 aces.
Pin- Hailey Labonte - Sr. - Portsmouth - Patriots are off to a perfect start and Labonte isn’t messing around. 19 kills on the Avengers and 15 kills on the Oakers.
Middle- Addison Fain - Jr. - East Greenwich - If you play one of the top teams in the state and you nab 6 kills and 5 blocks…well, you get noticed…not to mention dropping the hammer on SK as well.
Middle- Alivia Bastien - Sr. - Hope - 11 kills and 5 blocks are big time numbers in the middle as Bastien and company put away The Valley.
Pin- Aidan Reilly - Sr. - Middletown - If there was a question where the offense was going to come from on this new Middletown side…well, 14 kills and 4 aces against rival Mt. Hope by Reilly answered that one.
Setter- Syd Henson - Sr. - North Kingstown - Yeah, let’s move our three-time all-ResV Libero to setter…It’ll be fine. 19 assist debut later and we’re off to the races.
Libero- Jett Cronin - Sr. - Prout - Huge performance out of Jett with 26 digs against Cranston West. Those types of numbers will get you recognized.
Utility - Kiera Mullen - Jr. - East Providence - Townies stun South Kingstown, plus go undefeated on the week. It’s the standard Mullen stat line of 8 kills, 7 aces, 8 assists and 2 blocks against SK…has to make the list.
ResV Top 15…
North Kingstown (2 - 0, Wins over Chariho and Block Island) - Skippers seem like the Skippers of old. Attackers on the pin are legit. Middles can play. Setter does work and the ball control is better than you think. May take a really good night to upend North Kingstown…again.
LaSalle (2 - 0, Wins over Coventry and Classical) - The Rams went into a tough Coventry barn and got the job done. They then went to another of the toughest away gyms in Classical and sorted it there as well. Still too many errors for my liking, but they should smooth it all out soon enough and be one of the toughest outs in the league.
+1 Portsmouth (3 - 0, Wins over Middletown, EG, and Coventry) - Three and oh has to feel nice for the Patriots. They have done it all on the road…in the D1 world anyway (the match with Middletown was at the haunted gymnasium) and they are getting big performances from their players. They’ll be tough at home, but if they are rolling on the road…all beware.
+1 East Providence (3 - 0, Wins over Cumberland, Classical, and SK) - The Townies also had a nice three up three down start. Stunning SK was the showstopper, but picking a win on Classical doesn’t hurt the cause. Both dubs set the tone that EP is ready to take D1 by storm.
Barrington (2 - 0, Wins over Bay View and Cumberland) - The Eagles start the year dismantling Bay View and Cumberland. Lots of tough serving by Barrington, plus the emergence of McCrann generating kills means trouble for all in D2.
+2 Middletown (2 - 1, Lost to Portsmouth, but wins over Mt. Hope and Rodgers) - Besides the fact I thought Gianna Piker had graduated (She hasn’t), I was correct that Aidan Rielly would take over plenty of the scoring punch. Rielly may be down with an injury (which we hate to hear), but once healthy, this team has playoffs written all over them.
Mt. Hope (1 - 2, Win over Rodgers, but lost to Middletown and Prout) - I once had a discussion with a very accomplished college coach about which you would take if you were starting a team…a pin with a big arm or a polished setter. I chose setter. He chose pin. He claimed he could teach anyone to set. I don’t doubt him, but in my mind setting matters so I’d take the polished orchestrator…and when you lose a good one like the Huskies had last year, it’s hard to get your offense rolling on all cylinders. They’ll round into form, but week one was a struggle.
+4 East Greenwich (1 - 1, Lost to Portsmouth but handled SK) - New coach means new ideas and new players, often, in new positions. I’ve felt it takes a lot of courage sometimes to put players where they need to be for the team to be successful and not just where they’ve been in the past. EG has done this already. They played Portsmouth relatively tough, but succumbed. So, they changed some things up and put some players in new spots and vola, SK goes down. Key know is to build and I have a feeling the Avengers will.
+1 Classical (1 - 2, Win over Cranston East, but lost to EP and LaSalle) - The Purple did the job on Cranston East, but EP and LaSalle proved too strong. Classical has a lot of new faces so the learning curve will be there. Nonetheless, it was key to get an early win to build on. It’ll be interesting to see how they round into shape, especially armed with one of the toughest gyms to play well in.
—7 South Kingstown (0 - 2, Lost to EP and EG) - All appears not well in Rebel land. When I heard about the EP lost, I thought to myself…well, EP is certainly for real. However, with the loss to the Avengers…well, who knows what is going on. The Avengers can play, but a sweep seemed incorrect. I will say that everyone is allowed a bad week, and if you’re going to have it, week one is the time. The bounce back will be interesting as I still feel SK has some pieces to cause noise in the Division.
—4 Coventry (0 - 2, Lost to LaSalle and Portsmouth) - It’s fair to say that the Oakers have sort of raw deal on the rankings this week. Dropping four after losing matches to two, top four teams in the state, isn’t usually cause for a huge cascade on the list. Sometimes, however, the list gets altered due to other team’s movements and Coventry is the victim of that, I’m afraid. The Oakers will always bring you into a slog. LaSalle didn’t look crisp against them, and it took five-sets for Portsmouth to figure it out…so there is life for Coventry. Need to get some early wins in week two to start the momentum, though, and I think they know it.
+2 Chariho (1 - 1, Lost to NK, but won against Westerly) - The Chargers had the unenviable task of seeing the Skippers right from the gun and at home to boot. When you’re a team that’s got a lot of new faces on the floor, you’d prefer to see the top dogs later on…especially when you have the top home barn in the state. What’s done is done, and Chariho has shown promise. They finished the week beating a game Westerly side and I have a feeling the green will be in the mix way more than first thought of.
—2 Cumberland (1 - 2, Win over EWG, but lost to EP and Barrington) - Speaking of teams that may be better then you realize, the Clippers fit that bill. They got the win over EWG, though it was a little bit of a grind. Losing to EP and Barrington are lessons which I think this Clipper side will benefit from. Add that some other D2 teams have come out the gate slow as well and you have the ingredients of a team that may figure it out and make a run.
—1 Westerly (1 - 1, Lost to Chariho and beat Fitch) - Knowing zero about Fitch, it’s hard to know what that win means in the whole scheme of things. I have to believe that it helps the psyche and gives Westerly a nice boost going into week two. Otherwise, they only saw Chariho and dropping that match could be good and bad depending on how they take it. Hopefully, it’s a nice learning experience that allows the Bulldogs to prep for what’s to come in their division…of which I think they have plenty of opportunity to work in.
Burrillville (2 - 0, Wins over Tiverton and Ponagansett) - Broncos stick at 15 with a two-win week. Granted, both wins are D3 teams (which in today’s volleyball world doesn’t mean anything), but Tiverton can do work and also any time you get a win, good things can follow. It’ll be interesting to see how Burrillville fairs when the big players in the D2 world come a calling. With tough serving and solid net play, it may not matter what Division is looking to play.
Receiving Votes - North Smithfield, Tiverton, Scituate, Hope, Prout, Shea
ResV Player of the Week…
Caitlin Mediate - Sr. - Setter - Portsmouth - On a three-match week, the Patriots go unscathed, get two conference wins, and the Mediate stat lines are the truth. In the two D1 conference matches, Mediate had 52 assists, 6 kills, 38 digs, and 10 aces. And…this was all on the road.
ResV Honorable Baller of the Week…
Kealyn Pearson - Sr. - Pin - Exeter/West Greenwich - Pearson snapped 13 kills on a D1 opponent in four sets this past week. EWG went on the road to The CW and stole a set, while Pearson did work in the stat sheet, providing a solid performance for a D2 program in a non-conference setback.
Playoff Races Through Week One…
D1-
North Kingstown - Skips get two, but the nonchalant victory at the Cave speaks volumes.
LaSalle Academy - Error filled outing at Coventry and still get a “W?” Everyone is in trouble when LaS tightens up the ship.
Portsmouth - Labonte and Mediate are a potent duo. They have two road wins but interested to see when the play the bigger opponents.
East Providence - Townies taking down Classical and SK makes me think EP will attempt what Chariho did last year.
East Greenwich - Dispatching SK jumps them far. Can they keep the good vibes rolling and take down more top fifteen teams?
D2-
Barrington - What did I say last year? Weapons everywhere and just need to pass well. They also serve you into fits!
Middletown - Dismantling Mt. Hope made everyone in D2 pause. Islanders appear for real with this revamped squad with more returning faces then I realized.
Mt. Hope - Long season to go, but the Middletown falter hurt. Still have most of the pieces of the puzzle and should recover.
North Smithfield - Something about a scrappy team that does my heart well. NS can ball and take them for granted at your own peril.
Cumberland - Losing to Barrington in four brings zero shame. Clippers may be closer than many realize.
D3-
Tiverton - Tiverton TNT. They have arms and they can make plays. Tolman found out and perhaps the whole league will as well. It’s early, but Tiverton controlled most of the board last year as well.
Scituate - Off to a solid start taking care of Mt. Pleasant in three. It’s early, but Scituate tends to be in the mix. We’ll learn soon enough how much.
Tolman - The Tiverton loss hurt the cause, but perhaps that’s the early wakeup call that everyone unites under. If the history of the past four years means anything, Tolman will be there.
Narragansett - Haven’t played yet so nothing to write.
St. Rays - Two three set sweeps over Davies and PCD shows a strong start to the Saints.
D4-
Shea - Survived a five-setter with Central. Certainly, will need more of a sample size to truly know…we’ll know more in week two.
Hope - Taking down The Valley in four gets the year off to a positive start.
Toll Gate - Taking down NP in four may show more the improvement of NP, but stealing a set off of D1 Cranston East raises an eyebrow.
Blackstone Valley - Falling to Hope isn’t what the Doctor ordered, but perhaps maybe it is. Early losses can be blessings in disguise.
Davies - One up and one down…Davies took Achievement First but dropped to St. Rays.
ResV Coaching Tip of the Week - Make sure to work on “out of system” offense a little bit in each practice. Statistically speaking, no matter how well you pass, you’ll spend 40%, or more, in bad first volleyball touch situations…so have a plan for it and get a swing!
ResV Player Tip of the Week - How you treat your teammates on the floor may mean the difference in success or failure in a match. Everyone knows their job when they take the floor (if not, be sure to talk about it days before a match begins) so only positive vibes and encouragement should flow, regardless of the score of a set. Remember, emotion in a match is a dangerous beast and negative emotion can sink the ship fast. Have empathy for your teammates and let them know, through your actions in play, that you have their back no matter what happens.
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!