Week Three - Rams Stake Their Claim while Chargers Rocket to the Top…
9/24/23
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear all about it!!!
For the first time since I’ve been writing for ResV, the #1 and #2 teams in the state fall in the same week. With La Salle taking down the Skippers at the Forge and the Chargers claiming a win at the Oaker Lands that Coventry calls home, not only have #1 and #2 fallen, but both fell at home. Wild stuff!
As we enter week four, the rankings tend to solidify or at least become less volatile… Though something tells me that this year may be different. Each division has four or five teams in the hunt and from an outsider’s point of view, they seem comparable. This is kind of unusual as most years, the two or three teams at the top are just head and shoulders ahead of the next three to five. That’s the overall yearly pattern, but every once in a while, we get a wild year. This season may be one of those.
What really separates, La Salle, North Kingstown, Portsmouth, South Kingstown, and Chariho…add Coventry…? Not too too much. On any given Sunday, as they say, one team could beat the other and it may not matter who is at home and who is on the road. Same thought for D2 - East Providence (though they’re still spotless), Cumberland, Mt. Hope, Middletown, Westerly, Lincoln, Barrington… D3 - Tolman (also unblemished), Block Island (the true island where teams may meet their doom), Burrillville, Toll Gate, Juanita Sanchez… D4 - Mount Pleasant, Shea, PCD, Blackstone Valley, Davies, Hope…
Now, it’s not to say that this theory will hold true for all divisions, or even one. Teams that make fewer errors, serve a tic tougher, and pass just a little cleaner will tend to win and seedings may just hold true from here on out. Who knows? Certainly not I. I will finish with this; high school sports are exciting, often more so than their collegiate and professional cousins because of the chaotic nature of what can be. Besides, what fun is it when the end or the conclusion is so clearly in sight…give me an adventure any day of the week over that.
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Jules White (Chariho) - 14 kills, 5 aces, 3 blocks, 10 digs at Coventry
Katja Nelson (Chariho) - 11 kills, hitting a .562, 2 aces, 3 blocks at Coventry
Lexi Cole (Chariho) - 44 assists, 3 aces at Coventry — 27 assists, 8 digs, 2 aces versus Cranston East
Erin O’Leary (Chariho) - 10 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs at Coventry
Emma Kocab (Chariho) - 14 digs, 5 aces at Coventry
Maighan Parsley (Middletown) - 7 aces versus North Smithfield
Lilly Vetelino (Westerly) - 7 aces at Exter-West Greenwich
Riley Peloquin (Westerly) - 10 kills at Exter-West Greenwich
Lana Kooloian (PCD) - 11 aces at Times Two
Casey Weaver (Lincoln) - 16 Kills, 6 Aces versus Johnston
Syd Henson (North Kingstown) - 6 aces and 9 digs versus Prout — 12 digs vs. South Kingstown
Ella Maack (North Kingstown) - 28 assists, 8 digs, 3 aces versus Prout — 32 assists, 14 digs, 6 kills, and 5 aces vs. South Kingstown —33 assists, 28 digs, 10 kills, 2 blocks versus La Salle
Tessa LaFrenier (North Kingstown) - 11 kills, hit a .500 versus Prout — 17 kills versus La Salle
Davina Kodua (Tolman) - 14 assists, 8 aces, 2 blocks at Scituate
Kaelyn Whitaker (La Salle) - 25 kills, 9 digs, 3 aces versus South Kingstown — 18 kills, 6 digs at North Kingstown
Sofia D’Agostino (La Salle) - 14 digs, 2 aces, 4 assists versus South Kingstown — 27 digs, 5 aces, 4 assists at North Kingstown
Olivia Higgins (La Salle) - 11 kills, hit a .579, 4 blocks versus South Kingstown
Abby Crowley (La Salle) - 38 assists, 11 digs, 3 aces, 2 kills versus South Kingstown - 40 assists, 10 digs, 4 blocks at North Kingstown
Maisy Naff (La Salle) - 18 kills, 3 aces, 5 digs at North Kingstown
Mazie Phillips (Mount Saint Charles) - 13 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces versus Classical
Maya Solecki (Mount Saint Charles) - 11 kills, 4 aces, 7 digs versus Classical
Ava Jarret (Mount Saint Charles) - 36 assists, 2 aces versus Classical
Harmony Forrest (Classical) - 18 kills at Mount Saint Charles
Deana Baez (Classical) - 30 assists, 3 blocks, 2 aces at Mount Saint Charles
Taliyah Periera (Classical) - 13 kills, 14 digs at Mount Saint Charles
Elsie Omondi (Classical) - 9 aces, 4 kills, and 9 digs at Mount Saint Charles
Jasmine Baccouche (North Smithfield) - 6 aces at Ponaganset
Kaylee Bradley (Cumberland) - 25 assists, 7 aces at Barrington
Brennah Abilheira-Cargill (Cumberland) - 25 digs at Barrington
Sophia Pires (Cumberland) - 6 ace, 12 digs at Barrington
Andrea Vasquez (North Providence) - 8 aces, 7 kills at PCD
Lana Kooloian (PCD) - 12 aces versus North Providence
ResV Player of the Week (3) - Ella Maack (North Kingstown) - Lots of good play in week three, but no one had more impact, both statistical and physical, then Ella Maack. In a tough 2 - 1 week for the Skippers, Maack was superb, averaging 31 assists per match, 16 digs, 5 kills, and 3 aces.
[↑ 1] La Salle Academy (6 - 1) - The Rams throw down the gauntlet and tell the state, this is our time! Huge wins over the Kingstowns send a message to the land that the Championship runs through the Mountain Top…at least for now. It would be a neat story for the Rams to win the whole thing right after their boys’ team counterparts finally broke through as well in 2023. Winning at the Forge provides all sorts of confidence and with Maisy Naff and Kaelyn Whittaker putting up big offensive numbers on the regular, Abby Crowley having a player of the year caliber season, and Sofia D’Agostino emerging as one of the top Libs in the state…there is plenty of muscle behind the Ram horns. Classical gets to feel the jolt next.
[↓ 1] North Kingstown (4 - 1) - Well, the Skippers drop a five-set thriller to La Salle after turning South Kingstown away in five earlier in the week. Maybe they had tired legs for the Rams? Lots of hitting errors which is always tough to battle out of. Ella Maack had a monster week and did everything but take tickets for the crowd. Syd Henson is still Syd Henson, however she’s getting fewer and fewer digs as teams are just opting not to hit the ball her direction. Better to test Maack and Annie Draper then continuously let Henson absorb all of the shots. The championship still goes through North Kingstown as well, but there are cracks in the armor now and teams feel that they can get work done against them. Keeping the ball in bounds and out of the net will be the goal and probably try to get a little more pop out of the middle. Coventry and Classical will see the adjustments in week four.
[↑ 2] Portsmouth (3 - 2) - The Patriots get the week they needed. With wins over West Warwick and Prout, Portsmouth steadies the ship and it puts them in position to bolster their record before they see a dreaded four game stretch that features Chariho, South Kingstown, La Salle, and North Kingstown, all in row, starting in week six. Granted getting two wins against two teams that are in building mode shouldn’t necessarily give two plus spots on the rankings, but with Chariho’s upset of Coventry, things got shaken up and the Patriots benefit. All indications point that Caitlin Mediate is having a strong season while Avery Pelletier and Hailey Labonte continue to produce. Hosting Cranston East and East Greenwich in week four has a good feeling of continued success.
[↑ 4] Chariho (5 - 1) - Defending D-2 champs are not playing around. Marching into Oaker Land and silencing the #2 team in the state speaks volumes and is worthy of a rocket up the charts. If the Chargers can knock off a top five team, then all playoff teams have to consider Chariho a threat. Choosing not to, is at your own peril. Jules White is averaging 3.2 kills per set and has only been held under ten kills once and that was against Mount Saint Charles. She’s also nearly averaging an ace a set, which is pretty remarkable. Lexi Cole continues her solid play and has been able to utilize White, Katja Nelson, and Erin O’Leary to beyond solid results. Granted, the Chargers have not seen the Kingstowns nor the newly top of the mountain Rams, but it’s going to be fun when they do. Don’t discount playing at the Cave either. One of the tougher gyms in the state to escape with a win. Prout and West Warwick next before business time.
[↓ 3] Coventry (5 - 1) - The Oakers drop three spots as they were stunned by the Chargers at home. The four-set defeat was a culmination of Chariho playing good ball and Coventry spraying the ball out of bounds too many times. It’s a weird feeling, as the La Salle win feels like a lifetime ago and the Chariho loss is raw and new…with the Kingstowns on the horizon. Beating EG in three helped soften the week, but still that Charger loss was like a gong going off. The Oakers need more points out of Abby Spadoni who has become more of a defensive player then offensive. Spadoni can score in bunches but just hasn’t been able to get going yet. Liv Rollinson is still the top weapon and Addison Patrick can do work, so if Spadoni can also get ten plus kills, the Oakers will be in business. Tough one at the Forge is coming up with a freshly defeated and now annoyed North Kingstown followed by West Warwick.
[↓ 2] South Kingstown (2 - 3) - The Rebels record is not an indication of their level of play and most know it. Schedule wise, they’ve seen most of the top teams in the state right off the bat and have come up with some losses, yet plenty of sets played. They’ve played twenty sets of volleyball in five matches, meaning they left five sets on the table if they wanted to play all of them. Early setbacks to Portsmouth, La Salle, and North Kingstown are understandable, and though they effect the record, they weren’t sweeps and the score were good. Plenty to build on. Mia Iemma has emerged as a top libero while Karmen Lambert is playing her best volleyball already. Solid bet that the Rebels fortunes may change the next time they see some of these teams. East Greenwich and Cranston East are next.
[↓ 1] EP (7 - 0) - Yes, yes, winning, not losing a match, and still dropping one slot in the rankings is not cool. Totally get it. However, in defense of that, the Chariho upset of Coventry moved the board all over the place and the result was the Townies and Clippers moving down a peg for no reason earned. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes. Regardless, EP continues their perfect season to date dispatching St. Rays and Johnston in three sets each. The Townies have now won twenty-one sets in a row. They’ve not tasted defeat yet in any category and they’re getting great play out of Keira and Malia Mullen, Daniella Escudero, and Eliza Vest. Bay View and Lincoln visit EP next and they’ll have their work cut out for them as the Townie puzzle is complex and deadly accurate.
[↓ 1] Cumberland (6 - 1) - Quickly again, Clips did nothing to drop a ranking slot, but the board adjusted due to huge wins by Chariho and La Salle and it just is what it is. Beating Barrington in four this week helped keep the good vibes going as the Clips haven’t lost since the three-set setback to the new top team in the state, La Salle in week one. Kaylee Bradley is doing a nice job running the offense and continuing to find her weapons at the proper times. Brennah Abilheira-Cargill is doing her job passing well and being the defensive stalwart needed to secure victories. From here on out, each match has to be prep for the looming East Providence matchup. Knowing that each team has the ability to get you if you don’t execute, is key as well. Rogers and St. Rays are next, and though EP is the premier, there is a sneaky Mt. Hope team that could cause a big problem for the Clips just around the corner.
[↑ 3] Mount Saint Charles (4 - 2) - Just a week ago, it felt like MSC was ready to slip off the top 15. Now they’re plus two in the record department and are causing some concern for the top of the bracket. Two signature wins over Classical and East Greenwich are holding form for the time being. The big monsters of the conference are yet to be seen, and MSC is going to need some clean play and tough serving to navigate those waters. Getting two week four vics will be gigantic going forward (Prout and West Warwick) because from there it’s rough waters. As Ava Jarrett gets more and more comfortable running the offense, the better the Mounties look and the more dangerous they become.
[↑ 2] East Greenwich (2 - 3) - The Avengers sit fourth in the Division One - B conference and the schedule is about to get unkind. South Kingstown, Portsmouth, and Prout are on deck for week four and one has to think that EG needs to at least get one of those to keep the train on the tracks. That’s a hard ask as SK is legit, Portsmouth is doubly tough at the Haunted Gymnasium, and Prout has some pieces to the puzzle…and the Avengers are still looking for the return of Amanda Duke. Injuries are always tough to predict from the keyboard as that type of information rarely flows down to me, but certainly EG would love to have her back in the lineup to see what they can do with their full array of players. Until then, the Avengers will rely on the passing and defense of Hannah Gaffney, and an offense by committee with Lauren Mignanelli, Gabi Jackson, and Brianna Hartman, all getting opportunities.
[↓ 2] Classical (1 - 3) - Well, trouble has come for the Purple. What looked initially like a team that would be no fun to play against a week or so earlier, now feels like a team that is barely hanging on. The loss to Mount Saint Charles was an early devasting one and dropping the four-setter to EG hurt as well. Now, the Rams and Skippers are next and there is a feeling that this could get out of hand quickly. Harmony Forrest and Taliyah Periera continue to put up solid offensive numbers while Deana Baez is doing her best to get the offense running. Passing is the biggest hurdle for this crew…and they’re certainly not the only team with that diagnosis…but the feeling is if they can pass the ball a tic better, their success rate will rise. La Salle and NK are a tough couple of teams to get that rolling against, however.
[New] Mt. Hope (5 - 1) - The Huskies leap onto the board with knockout wins over Bay View and Middletown. The Middletown win was pretty striking as many thought the Islanders were going to be a real tough out in D2. Well, they weren’t tough enough of an out for Mt. Hope. Mia Hansen is a very good libero for the Huskies and Mt. Hope also sports a strong setter in Mia Shaw. Abigail Allen is a big presence at the net while the offense comes from multiple pins at different times. The Huskies are certainly a team to be reckoned with in the D2 world, and a giant test looms with Cumberland in the future (they’ve already dropped to East Providence in three). For the time being, however, Lincoln and Portsmouth Abby are next as the Huskies travel ever closer to the playoffs.
[↓ 3] Middletown (3 - 1) - The Islanders got stunned by Mt. Hope and all of a sudden the feeling of mortality is upon them. Unfortunately, the scores aren’t great on that Huskie game either so there is some back to the drawing board feels going on. The Islanders do have solid pieces to the puzzle and the Mt. Hope match could have been just a bad night, but when you’re planning for East Providence and Cumberland and a Mt. Hope squad takes you down, it’s a head scratcher. Still, that’s why we play the games and this match certainly can be a learning opportunity for the long run. Better to lose a game and learn from it now then lose the same type of game in the playoffs and your season is over. Gwen Delaney and crew get back to work this week facing Johnston, Westerly and Lincoln with the Bulldogs and Lions being very intriguing matches.
[New] Tolman (6 - 0) - The Pawtucket Tigers are on the board with six wins and sitting atop the Division Three - B conference. With wins over Woonsocket, Burrillville, Central, and Scituate…all in straight sets, the Tigers are laying claim that they want this division. Still early in the season, there are teams out there that can cause Tolman discomfort. Juanita Sanchez, Block Island, and Narragansett are still on the board and have yet to see the Tigers in competition. Trinity Burk leads the team in blocks and hitting percentage while Sellymar Garcia is averaging 2.1 kills per set in six matches. Tiverton and Juanita Sanchez are on for next week and that JS game is probably going to be another solid indicator about where this team can go in the future.
Mt. Pleasant (5 - 0) - The Kilties hold Shea at bay for another week as both remain undefeated, however Mt. Pleasant’s schedule has been tougher to date thus they get the nod. All that means is that the match between the two will tell the tale going forward on the ranking…or until there is a misstep by either. Until then, surviving Hope in five and besting Davies in four-sets keep the record unblemished and leaves the Kilties looking for the Raiders in week four. The week will also include a date with North Providence who is no slouch either, so a lot could change for Mt. Pleasant coming up…or they run the table and they begin to focus on the second half of their schedule. Either way, it’s a good bet that Mt. Pleasant will be in the mix come playoff time regardless.
Receiving Votes: Shea, Westerly, Block Island, Lincoln, Juanita Sanchez, Barrington
ResV Player of the Week…
Week 1 - Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth)
Week 2 - Lyla Auth (Westerly)
Week 3 - Ella Maack (North Kingstown)
Playoff Races Through Week Three…
Division One…
La Salle - Rams upend the Skippers at the Forge and sit atop the conference. May be tough to dislodge them now…
North Kingstown - Setback with the Rams is surprising considering it was at the Forge… Still in good shape but will need to curb hitting errors.
Portsmouth - Skippers loss is an opportunity for all… Must hold the fort at home and steal a couple on the road.
South Kingstown - Rebels had a tough week, but still have lots of talent. Will have some time to regroup and from there make a push.
Chariho - Chargers feel for real. They’ve yet to see La Salle, NK, or SK, but they’re in the mix and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Division Two…
East Providence - Through three weeks, Townies still hold all the cards. They’ve already swept Mt. Hope. Now just waiting to see Cumberland, Middletown, and the rest.
Cumberland - Clips keep the pressure on handing out losses to Barrington and the CW.
Mt. Hope - The Hope on the MT stun Middletown and thrust themselves onto the scene.
Middletown - The Mt. Hope loss gives pause. They have the pieces to be in the mix, but can they do it under the prime lights?
Westerly - The Bulldogs have quietly positioned themselves on the board and may not be a fun match for anyone.
Division Three…
Tolman - Pawtucket is back on top, but they haven’t played anyone too strong yet…
Juanita Sanchez - Julisa Smith is a hammer and can turn a match quickly. Can she get enough swings to run it?
Block Island - Undefeated thus far and love the idea that traveling the water to face them feels like merchants getting swarmed by pirates and losing.
Burrillville - Key win over Toll Gate holds the line. They also have a great home court advantage for any opponent.
Toll Gate - Burrillville is the tough loss, but they get a crack at Tolman next and a win could change everything!
Division Four…
Mt. Pleasant - Kilties keep winning and stay ahead of Shea on strength of schedules.
Shea - Unbeaten as well and eyeing a date with Mt. Pleasant soon.
Providence Country Day - PCD is a serving machine and relies heavily on aces and back row attacking.
Blackstone Valley - Have dropped three straight but getting some good lessons to build on in the process.
Davies - Challenged both Mt. Pleasant and Shea, falling to both in four sets.
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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