Week Three…The Ebb and Flow of the Northmen…
4/21/24 - The Evening Edition!
ResV = Article and Show Prep for the Others…
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OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called "two in a row". And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a "winning streak"... It has happened before. (Name that Movie!)
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“You know what separates the winners from the losers?”
“The Score?”
“No, getting back on the horse after getting kicked in the teeth.” (Name that Movie!)
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“Hey Coach, how will I know if I’m enough?”
“You won’t until you cross the finish line.” (Name that Movie!)
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Big Stat Games of the Week…
Carlos Lora - Cranston East - Pin - 16 kills, 10 digs at Classical : 11 kills, 12 digs at North Smithfield
Charles Pincince - Cranston East - Pin - 21 kills, 10 digs at Classical : 20 kills, 9 digs, 3 blocks at North Smithfield
Caleb Xum - Cranston East - Setter - 45 assists, 7 digs, 4 aces, 2 kills at Classical : 45 assists, 4 kills, 2 aces, and 6 digs at North Smithfield
Larry Yin - Cranston East - Libero - 19 digs, 2 assists at North Smithfield
Ben Warr - Bishop Hendricken - Setter - 33 kills, 14 digs, 6 kills, and 2 blocks @ LaSalle Academy : 20 assists, 10 digs, 5 kills vs. North Kingstown
Charles Kretzer - Bishop Hendricken - Libero - 18 digs at LaSalle Academy
Andrew Ramos - Bishop Hendricken - Middle - 8 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks at LaSalle Academy
Quinten Reslow - Bishop Hendricken - Pin - 5 kills, 5 blocks at LaSalle Academy
Ephraim Abhulime - LaSalle Academy - Pin - 16 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks vs. Bishop Hendricken
Connor Lewis - LaSalle Academy - Middle - 9 kills, 5 blocks vs. Bishop Hendricken : 10 kills, 4 blocks vs. Chariho
Ali Abdur-Razzak - LaSalle Academy - Setter - 24 assists, 13 digs, 2 blocks vs. Bishop Hendricken
Ty Cotta - LaSalle Academy - Libero - 20 digs vs. Bishop Hendricken
Kody Poplaski - Chariho - Setter - 38 assists, 13 digs, 4 aces vs. East Greenwich
Quinn Sposato - Chariho - Pin - 13 kills, 8 digs vs. East Greenwich
Landon Marland - Chariho - Pin - 12 kills, 8 digs vs. East Greenwich
Christian Mak - Cranston West - Pin - 13 kills, 2 blocks, 2 digs vs. Lincoln
Ashton Mak - Cranston Est - Setter - 27 assists, 2 kills, 2 digs vs. Lincoln
Jet Nascimneto - Central - Pin - 17 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks vs. Pilgrim : 16 kills, 26 digs vs. West Warwick
Thanantkul Chan - Central - Setter - 32 assists vs. Pilgrim
Ryan Harrington - North Kingstown - Pin - 23 kills, 3 aces, 3 blocks, 9 digs at North Smithfield
Cody Tow - North Kingstown - Pin - 13 kills, 15 digs, 3 blocks at North Smithfield
Caden Sullivan - North Smithfield - Setter - 52 assists vs. North Kingstown
Tom Matchett - North Smithfield - Middle - 24 kills vs. North Kingstown
Jacob Agramonte - Classical - Pin - 17 kills, 4 blocks vs. Cranston East : 12 kills 2 aces at East Greenwich
Teddy Wallace - Classical - Middle - 16 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks vs. Cranston East
Jahmir Evans - LaSalle Academy - 10 kills, 5 digs vs. Chariho
Wayne McNamara - Lincoln - Pin - 15 kills, 3 blocks, 6 digs at Cranston West : 21 kills, 6 aces, 6 digs vs. East Providence
James Men - Classical - Setter - 42 assists, 3 digs vs. Cranston East : 31 assists, 3 aces at East Greenwich
DJ Lepine - East Providence - Pin - 23 kills, 7 digs at Lincoln
Jordan Rodriguez - East Providence - Pin - 10 kills, 12 digs at Lincoln
Loden Broe - East Providence - Setter - 41 assists, 4 aces, 7 digs at Lincoln
ResV Team of the Week…
Pin - Carlos Lora (Sr.) - Cranston East - The Bolts direction, and voltage, changed once Lora returned to the line-up. Lora offers a steady ball control presence and another pin who can score. Defensively he’s almost as dynamic as Yin giving CE two guys who won’t let the balloon drop. Lora was huge this week ensuring the Bolts swept the comp.
Pin - Wayne McNamara (Sr.) - Lincoln - Voted one of the top basketball players in the state, McNamara also attacks a volleyball quite well. In a split week, Bic Mac dropped 36 kills and helped the Lions get a big win over EP.
Middle - Tom Matchett (Sr.) - North Smithfield - For the second time, Tom Matchett is selected for the ResV Team of the Week. Matchett scores in bunches as the middle for NS and is their primary weapon. The connection with teammate Caden Sullivan is superb and no other team features their middle as their primary attacker. Matchett put up 24 kills in their upset win over North Kingstown.
Middle - Dennis Dixon (Jr.) - Cranston East - Mr. Dixon is becoming THAT middle for Cranston East. Though the third or fourth option in the offense, Dixon is often in the right place at the right time and scores when the Bolts need it. He was instrumental in their week three dominance averaging 10 kills a match.
Pin - Jacob Agramonte (Jr.) - Classical - When you play the Purple, you have to account for Jacob Agramonte. If you don’t, he’ll be jawing so you’ll know where he is anyway. Talented and effective, Agramonte is the LT of RI volleyball. He’ll outwork you, tell you all about it, and put up numbers for victories. Classical leans on him hard and it’s lead already to a 4-2 record…and his numbers this week were superb.
Setter - Caden Sullivan (Sr.) - North Smithfield - Sullivan is a premier setter in the league and is a vital component to the Northmen being successful. In the match against North Kingstown, he amassed 52 assists, leading his squad to the upset victory of North Kingstown. Armed with a good serve, size, and the ability to attack as well as find his top option in the middle, Sullivan will be the guy who steers the car to the playoffs.
Libero - Larry Yin (Sr.) - Cranston East - In a big week for Cranston East, Yin gets named again to the ResV Team of the week…back-to-back selection…joining Tom Matchett as the only two players to be named twice. Yin has been solid in serve receive and is averaging 17 digs per match in the last three.
ResV Top 15…
North Kingstown (6 - 1) - Skippers taste defeat for the first time this week as the Northmen from North Smithfield outlast them in five sets. Ryan Harrington had 23 kills in that one which certainly kept them in it, but the issue that crept into view was on the defensive side of the ball. Tom Matchett eviscerated them for 24 in the middle while Ben Sousa and Connor DeSousa were up to the serving pressure that NK administers with Cody Tow, Harri, and others. Now, it took North Smithfield throwing the kitchen sink at them for the fall to occur and I’m not sure many teams, including NS, have that in them in the future…so I still like NK at the top spot. However, the seal has been broken and once blood is in the water…well…the sharks come.
LaSalle Academy (6 - 1) - The Rams took care of business this week with wins over Hendricken and Chariho. The Hendricken match was a little funky as they dropped at set and looked a little uneasy through two sets. Chariho was more the usual outing. The Rams have one of the four volleyball Kaijus in the state in Ephraim Abhulime and once the big fella gets rolling…forget about it. Having him play on the pin remains interesting to me as he could be the most dominant middle in the state. It’s also good news to see Jahmir Evans back on the floor. The electric pin was rumored to be sidelined a lot longer and it’s awesome to see that’s not the case…and that the RI volleyball rumor mill stinks. Connor Lewis is also playing real good ball of late. Rams see Classical and Coventry next.
North Smithfield (5 - 2) - The Northmen took down the #1 seed in a five-set slugfest showing that the makeup of this NS crew is perfect for handling the serve and pass strength of North Kingstown. Then, 24 hours later, the Northmen fell in four to the Bolts of Cranston East as they appeared to have little answer for Sir Charles and crew. If this second match had occurred two days from the NK match, I’d have more credence for the situation. However, since it was back-to-back nights and the Northmen went a blistering five with the Skippers…well, an upending by a quality opponent the next day isn’t exactly a red flag…just tough scheduling. Tom Matchett continues to be untouchable in the middle, while Caden Sullivan is running a prime offense. Ben Sousa and Connor DeSousa are outstanding ball control guys who ensure the offense and defense are relatively secure. Hendricken and Chariho are next on the dockett.
(+4) Cranston East (6 - 2) - Thunderbolts of lightening, very very frightening… I mean, that’s what I think of when envisioning Cranston East playing anyone these days. Boy do these Bolts have a lot of the pieces to the puzzle. Striking down North Smithfield and Classical in the same week sends a message that CE wants a piece of the crown if not the whole thing. Carlos Lora back on the floor helps a ton as it takes some of the pressure off of the other pins with passing and scoring. Caleb Xum is getting better and better at the setter position while Charlie Pincince is above 20 kills twice on the week. They’re big enough to handle opposing middles and their ground play is solid enough to handle the opposing pins as well as strong serve games. A business week follows in week four, and then we get to see how good this squad is.
Cranston West (7 - 0) - The Falcons remain perfect on the season knocking off Lincoln this week. That match had the feeling prior to first serve like it might be a real good one, but the disciplined play of The CW really bested the physicality that Lincoln brought to the table that day. Chris Harvey and Christian Mak are the engine that make it all go, while Ashton Mak drives the car and Logan Reed is the tires that protects the vehicle from the unforgiving road. The Falcons have bested all the top teams in the conference and now turn their attention to the back end of the potential playoff lineups. They see Westerly next, home of one of the volleyball Kaijus of Rhode Island, and must feel pretty good about their chances as they have him outgunned.
Barrington (6 - 1) - The Eagles keep pace with the Falcons winning in straight sets over West Warwick and Westerly in convincing fashion. For as complete a team as The CW is, Barrington rivals. Cam Kelley and Jimmy Ciummo lead the offensive charge. Kelley is leading the team in kills on the pin, while Ciummo is a handful in the middle. Luke Van Ness anchors the ground defense and Sang Min Park runs the offense. An offense, that keeps getting stronger. Luke Andsager and Max Oberacker are starting to heat up and chipping in kills, which takes some of the heat off of Kelley and Ciummo which is key. Early in the season it looked like Kelley would be taking 60 swings a night. They visit Woonsocket next, followed by attending the Rhody Invitational on April 27th…gearing them up for the future where the CW has to come to them.
(—3) Classical (5 - 2) - The Purple dropping three spots is a little harsh as they only lost to Cranston East on the week…got the vic over Coventry earlier. Losing two spots maybe, but three? Coach Reslow are you a monster? Well, no…sometimes huge moves by other teams rattle the cages of the rest. In this instance, CE beating Classical and North Smithfield rocketed them up the charts and thus a minus one move extra for some teams…Classical being one of them. Now, I’ve been saying for a week or so now, the Purple need a signature win. Currently, their best win is against Hendricken, which is fine as Hendricken is much improved from last year…but Hendricken is not in the top four which is where Classical aims to be. Week four will give them another opportunity as LaSalle is on the schedule (in my head I want the English pronunciation on “schedule”… chedule). James Men will need to be creative in running the ship as freeing up Jacob Agramonte and Teddy Wallace will be of key importance against the Rams…that and Jeraldy Herrera Santos will need to stand on his head and protect the pipes for success as well.
(—1) Lincoln (4 - 2) - Must confess, I thought that the Lions would give Cranston West a run. Wayne McNamara has become an almost volleyball Kaiju…maybe just a baby Kaiju, like when Godzilla is an infant or something like that. Point is, he scores almost at will and demands blocking attention from whomever Lincoln plays. Austin Noel is playing solid ball too, so the thought was The CW will have to work for everything. Well, not so much…scores of 22/19/16 tell me that Cranston West wasn’t threatened at all. McNamara put up 15 kills and 3 blocks, but after that the drop off was significant for points…which means McNamara may be entering the volleyball Kaiju environment of two of the four (Jack Kenyon and Jet Nascimento) where numbers are being put up but still needing some guys to go to the next level. Truly, it’s not a knock on all those supporting casts as they continue to get better and better…it’s just one monster can’t get it done in volleyball as it sometimes can in basketball. They get to pin down East Providence again before a date with Pilgrim…all prep for the top two seeds.
Bishop Hendricken (3 - 4) - Hawks take two on the chin as they drop games to both LaSalle Academy and North Kingstown. On the surface, it hurts, but looking a little deeper and one will see that this Hawk team is going to cause issues in the playoffs if not before. They took a set from LaSalle at the Mountain Top and had the defending champs a little uncertain for a moment and a half. Plus, they’re improving at an alarming rate. Ben Warr has played himself into one of the top setters in the state. Ryan Yin and Andrew Ramos are young attackers to build off of. Charles Kretzer is multifaceted (and multi-talented) while Landon McCarty, Quinten Reslow, and Zack Roebuck are pitching in and providing moments to help the cause. Plus, they’ve been down their libero, Santiago Harrington this past week. Another big test looms as they’ll see North Smithfield next but this side doesn’t feel like a comfortable match for many going forward.
(+1) Chariho (3 - 4) - The Chargers are putting some things together and now have the feel that kind of mimics Bishop Hendricken. With the three headed monster of Travis Plante, Quinn Sposato, and Landon Marland for kills, a strong libero in Will Ellis, and a solid conductor in Kody Poplaski, the Chargers have plenty of pieces to make a go of things. They’ve had to learn to play without last year’s volleyball Kaiju and it’s starting to all come together. Now with all that being said, these growing pains are still showing on the schedule. CE and LaSalle beat them in straight sets and their two previous wins were five-set adventures with Coventry and East Greenwich…so the struggle is still real. I do still think they’re turning the corner and good things will follow. Just need to limit errors. Skippers and Northmen are next which isn’t fun, but more opportunities to get better.
(—1) East Providence (4 - 3) - Ok, before we get going here…yes, yes, I am trying to see how many times I can work the word “Kaiju” into this article. Was just fascinated by the concept last night as I did the NCAA broadcast… I’m trying to figure out the Townies at the moment. On paper, DJ Lepine and Jordan Rodriguez on the pins, Loden Broe setting, and Pedro Medeiros in the middle should be quite strong in the D2 world. They do have a quality-ish wins over Westerly and Central but have not been able to clear the top three seeds in the conference. They’ll get another opportunity to best the Lions, but will need an answer for Big Mac while also ensuring Lepine and Rodriguez go off. This one will be at home and some home cooking should get them over the hump. From there, it’s trying to figure out how to topple the Birds of prey at the top. It’s doable, but to this point…well…we’re just not there.
(+1) Westerly (3 - 3) - Ranking the current volleyball Kaijus in the state…Ephraim Abhulime, Jack Kenyon, Tom Matchett, and Jet Nascimento is how it would go. Big Jack at Westerly is doing everything but take tickets for his side and can’t be too unhappy with a three up and three down line to date. The hope is that the second half of the season the Bulldogs will be fully healed and be able to give as good as they get. Granted, the most recent match with Barrington was not the outing desired…however, it’s one to let go as The CW and Barrington are not in the line of sight at the moment anyway. Heal up and win the ones that are in front of you and then worry about The CW and Barrington in the playoffs. Central is next, and that’s some Kaiju on Kaiju competition…should be fun.
(+1) Central (2 - 5) - The Knights had the toughest schedule out the gate…Barrington, Cranston East, Cranston West, East Providence, and then Lincoln…no picnic for anyone, let alone a team that would be missing a piece for a little bit and having a different crew surrounding one of the top players. Jet Nascimento is a monster and can score against anyone, but there has to be another guy or two chipping in as, I mentioned, volleyball requires more then just one player to win. Thus, having Komong Yang back in the fold helps a ton allowing Central to steadily improve. Nascimento is still going to take 40 swings a night easy, but now there is a feeling like more can be accomplished. Back-to-back wins get Central on the board and allow confidence to creep in. Westerly is next followed by Woonsocket and you know Central would love to have both of those before seeing the Eagles again.
(—2) East Greenwich (1 - 7) - The Avengers are an oddity that continues to perplex. There is talent on this side. Max Silverman is a top setter in the league, and state, while Cole Arsenault has game. Spencer Warburton is talented and can play anywhere. Luke Moio is growing in the Libero role and Zach Gessman is chipping in all over the place. So, there are pieces…it’s just missing Michael Dobrzanski has left such a void that EG cannot figure out how to get on the right side of a final score. I’ve seen it and it has happened to me as well…you have a horse that gets injured, and you have to shuffle the deck. Now guys are playing out of position and it’s ok, but not as productive and cohesive as if they were in their proper positions. Errors follow and once too many errors are made…sets slip away. Here’s hoping Dobz can return, and the Avengers can turn the page and gets some quality vics under the belt before playoffs. Cranston East and Coventry are next on the agenda.
(New) Juanita Sanchez (5 - 0) - Juanita Sanchez is on a five-match winning streak, only dropping a set in the process (to Scituate) and have quality wins over Toll Gate, Scituate, Portsmouth, and North Providence. That’s a solid resume in D3, and JS has the look of looking to run the table. Now, Central Falls and Tolman/Shea might have something to say about it, but you can’t discount the possibility. With only Scituate to crack the code, and only for a set, plus solid pre-season work against Classical and Central…why not JS? They see last year’s runner up in Tolman/Shea next and we should learn quite a bit more after that event.
Getting Votes… Central Falls, Tolman/Shea, Scituate, Portsmouth, Mt. Hope, Toll Gate
ResV Player of the Week…
Week 1 - Spencer Warburton (East Greenwich)
Week 2 - Jack Kenyon (Westerly)
Week 3 - Charlie Pincince (Cranston East) - In a monster week for Cranston East, none were better than Sir Charles. With 21 kills against Classical and 20 more on North Smithfield, Pincince played at a high level while limiting his attack errors. His serve has also become a weapon the Bolts can count on.
Playoff Races Through Week Three…
Division 1:
North Kingstown - Skippers suffer their first defeat, but luckily their bester also tasted that bitter fruit on the week. Still think NK’s got the pole position with their potent pins.
LaSalle Academy - Took care of business on the week and saw some growth in their system.
North Smithfield - Upended the Skippers, which is no small feat, but then fell to CE the next day. Schedule being brutal aside, the Northmen are right at the top with the ability to knock off anyone at any moment.
Cranston East - The Bolts are officially scary and with wins over Classical and North Smithfield on the week…their time may be coming soon.
Classical - The loss to Cranston East hurts. Have to secure a big win soon or will live at the 5th seed for the year.
Division 2:
Cranston West - The Falcons dispatched Lincoln with little difficulty. Looking more and more like only Barrington may have the fire power to get them.
Barrington - Eagles took care of business and smote West Warwick and Westerly. Rematch with The CW is the only thing on their mind, however.
Lincoln - Getting swept by the CW hopefully is a lesson to learn from. Clearly third at the moment, it’s now all about planning for the birds at the top.
East Providence - Townies still have loads of talent, just need to put it all together.
Westerly - Waiting to be healed enough to threaten. Luckily the scheduled damaged Central enough to stay in the fifth spot without worry for the time being.
Division 3:
Jaunita Sanchez - JS thumped Toll Gate and Portsmouth…got by Scituate. They take the top spot as Central Falls only as wins on TG and Tolman/Shea.
Central Falls - Still unblemished, but this week’s wins didn’t showcase much. Week four will test their might.
Scituate - They have a win against the defending champs and EWG, but the JS loss hurts the cause. Hope is to pick up the pieces and have a strong week four.
Tolman/Shea - Have only a single loss in conference thus far, Central Falls, and that one went the distance. Since then, they’ve not lost a set and are looking for more to dispatch as they climb the ladder.
Portsmouth - Only loss thus far is JS, while they’ve survived Mount Hope and Mount Pleasant. Keeping those good vibes going will be key as they head to Central Falls at the end of the week.
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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