Week Two…Electronic Failure Leads to Brevity…
4/14/25
My apologies on the delay! My laptop died on Saturday morning. It was the laptop I do all of my ResV stuff on… So, today, I obtained a new laptop and got the process working again. To be on time, today is back to brevity. It’s quick and to the point, considering I spent all morning on it and a couple of hours in the afternoon…not generally how I do business.
Anyway, week two was crazy. My favorite was Coventry getting another top five win at the Palace, and NK going to the Mountain Top and Silencing the Rams…feels like a Hannibal Lector joke in there somewhere…
What will week three bring? Who can tell, but I have my eye on the CE / NK match on Thursday!
Stay well all, and have a great week!
Big Stat Games of the Week…
Ben Wright - South Kingstown - Setter - 31 assists, 3 kills vs. Toll Gate
Luke Brock - South Kingstown - Pin - 12 kills, 4 aces vs. Toll Gate
Tom Richardson - South Kingstown - Pin - 10 kills, 4 aces vs. Toll Gate
Henry Kenyon - Westerly - Middle - 7 kills, 6 blocks vs. Juanita Sanchez : 18 kills, 5 blocks, 5 digs vs. Lincoln : 24 kills, 9 digs, 5 blocks at Chariho
Nate Paciga - Westerly - Middle - 3 kills, 6 blocks vs. Juanita Sanchez
Eliah Torres - Juanita Sanchez - Setter / Pin - 13 kills, 7 assists at Westerly
Jackson Colton - Lincoln - Middle - 13 kills, 7 blocks, 3 aces vs. West Warwick : 14 kills at Westerly
Colin Kelly - West Warwick - Middle - 11 kills, 8 blocks at Lincoln
Keandro Pinto - Central Falls - Pin - 17 kills, 4 aces, 7 digs, 4 blocks at Woonsocket
Jamilson Almeida - Central Falls - Pin - 16 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks at Woonsocket
Andrew Ramos - Bishop Hendricken - Pin - 20 kills, 4 blocks, 2 aces at Barrington
Ben Warr - Bishop Hendricken - Setter - 29 assists, 6 kills, 3 aces, 3 blocks at Barrington : 28 assists, 6 digs, 2 blocks, 3 kills vs. East Greenwich
Santiago Harrington - Bishop Hendricken - Libero - 15 digs at Barrington : 14 digs, 2 assists vs. East Greenwich
Zach Roebuck - Bishop Hendricken - Middle - 4 kills, 6 blocks at Barrington : 4 kills, 4 blocks vs. East Greenwich
Hayson Ortiz - Pawtucket - Pin / Middle - 6 kills, 7 blocks, 4 digs against Pilgrim
Flavio Tavares - La Salle - Pin - 13 kills, 5 blocks vs. Classical
Chris Bennell - La Salle - Middle - 10 kills, 2 blocks vs. Classical
Eli Nogueras - La Salle - Defensive Specialist - 10 digs and an assist vs. Classical
Charlie Pincince - Cranston East - Pin - 16 kills, 3 blocks, 8 digs, 2 aces at East Greenwich : 22 kills, 4 digs at Coventry
Caleb Xum - Cranston East - Setter - 40 assists, 6 blocks, 8 digs at East Greenwich : 42 assists, 12 digs at Coventry
Dennis Dixon - Cranston East - Middle - 10 kills, 5 blocks at East Greenwich : 16 kills at Coventry
Sam Rivera - Cranston East - Libero - 17 digs, 2 aces at Coventry
Zach Gessman - East Greenwich - Pin - 13 kills vs. Cranston East
Ryan Rathbun - North Kingstown - Pin - 13 kills on 17 swings at Chariho
Evan Shea - North Kingstown - Setter - 27 assists, 5 aces, 9 digs at Chariho : 31 assists, 3 digs vs. La Salle
Stephen Dufour - North Kingstown - Libero - 11 digs, 2 aces, 2 assists at Chariho : 8 digs, 2 assists vs. La Salle
Ryan Harrington - North Kingstown - Pin - 10 kills, 4 digs vs. La Salle
Ziyue Wang - Cranston West - Pin - 13 kills, 3 digs, hit .588 at North Smithfield : 21 kills, 17 digs at Chariho
Ashton Mak - Cranston West - Setter - 30 assists, 4 kills, 5 digs at North Smithfield : 41 assists, 3 kills, 10 digs at Chariho
Tyler Biddle - Lincoln - Pin - 13 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks at Westerly
Sebastian DeCubellis - Lincoln - Setter - 53 assists, 5 digs, 2 kills at Westerly
Landon “Marlon” Marland - Chariho - Pin - 28 kills, 10 digs vs. Cranston West : 23 kills 3 aces, 2 blocks, 11 digs vs. Westerly
Kody Poplaski - Chariho - Pin - 26 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs vs. Westerly
Ricky Comolli - Chariho - Setter - 35 assists, 3 aces vs. Cranston West : 51 assists, 15 digs vs. Westerly
Jack Casey - Portsmouth - Middle - 10 kills, 3 blocks, 7 aces, 5 digs vs. Mt. Pleasant
Ryan Narcessian - Bishop Hendricken - Pin - 14 kills vs. East Greenwich
Donny Park - Barrington - Pin - 11 kills, 2 aces, 8 digs against Lincoln
Big Matches Coming Up…
4/14/25 - Bishop Hendricken hosting North Kingstown - 6:30pm
- South Kingstown hosting West Warwick - 5:30pm
- Lincoln hosting Central - 6pm
- Juanita Sanchez hosting Cranston East - 6:30pm
4/15/25 - Chariho hosting Barrington - 6pm
- Classical hosting North Kingstown - 6pm
- La Salle Academy hosting Coventry - 6:30pm
- Cranston East hosting East Providence - 6:30pm
- Cranston West hosting East Greenwich - 6:30pm
4/17/25 - Coventry at East Providence - 6:30pm
- Cranston East at North Kingstown - 6:30pm
The Tops!
Top Kill Guy of the Week – Landon Marland – Chariho – Pin – 28 kills against Westerly
Top Dig Guy of the Week – Jaxon Vachon – Chariho – Libero – 20 digs against Westerly
Top Assist Guy of the Week – Sebastian DeCubellis – Lincoln – Setter – 53 assists against Westerly
Top Ace Guy of the Week – Jack Casey – Portsmouth – Middle – 7 aces against Mt. Pleasant
Top Block Guy(s) of the Week – Colin Kelly – West Warwick – Middle – 8 blocks against Lincoln
ResV Team of the Week…
Pin – Landon Marland – Chariho – Huge week of kills for The Marlon!
Pin – Ryan Harrington – North Kingstown – Stoic and deadly…as the Rams already knew and saw again.
Middle – Dennis Dixon – Cranston East – Team may have been shaky this week, but Dixon was on point and keeps getting better.
Middle – Jack Casey – Portsmouth – Owned the net for the Patriots in another flawless week.
Pin – Ziyue Wang - Cranston West – Big Z is not slowing down.
Setter – Evan Shea – North Kingstown – Goes to the Mountain Top and pitches a shut out…
Libero – Stephen Dufour – North Kingstown – What separates Dufour from the pack is not his defense nor his passing, but his ability to set high ball…almost no other Lib does it better.
Utility – Keandro Pinto – Central Falls – Everyone talks about Jamilson, and rightfully so, but Pinto had himself a week and give Central Falls a tough one, two, punch.
ResV Top 15…
1. North Kingstown (3 – 0) – Key win over La Salle at the Mountain Top keeps them in the pole position. Haven’t dropped a set yet and no one has made them uncomfortable.
2. Bishop Hendricken (3 -0) – Thus far, one of the few top five teams to play at Coventry and live to tell the tale. NK matchup tonight will truly reveal where they are.
3. La Salle Academy (2 – 2) – Hosted the Skippers and it showcased where they are at. No one prior had gotten to the twenties on NK. The Cranston East win on the road is still what matters.
4. Cranston East (2 – 2) – Went to Coventry and got burned. Truth be told, they were struggling with East Greenwich too. Need to clean up and make some adjustments as they’ve already lost home field against La Salle…and the Skippers are smiling.
5. Classical (2 – 1) – Team Enigma to me. Unsure what they bring to the table, but all will be revealed eventually. Beating EP is their calling card for the moment…though they did take a set from La Salle.
6. +2 Lincoln (5 – 0) – The Lions are top five and a lot of it has to do with their play against Barrington and Coventry. Escaping the Oaker palace is ribbon worthy and then handily beating Barrington at the Eagle nest showcases plenty.
7. +2 East Providence (3 – 3) – The Townies are the stock market team. Sometimes they’re up and other times they’re down. The CW and Classical losses were surprising. However, they go on the road and take the candy of Barrington and Coventry.
8. +2 Chariho (3 – 2) – To me, the Chargers have the pieces to cause teams headaches…they just need to be on the floor. It hasn’t happened yet, but they’re now pretty close. Beating The CW and Westerly is as good a springboard as any.
9. –2 Cranston West (4 – 2) – Are the good vibes over? The hot start may have finally cooled as The CW is faced with a second week featuring a loss in a five-set thriller to Chariho.
10. +1 Westerly (3 – 2) – The Bulldogs are the flea under the collar that will just make you miserable. Yes, they’re a little unconventional, but they can ball. Their two losses were slug fests and they have one of the most dynamic middles in the state.
11. –6 Barrington (2 – 4) – Well, I guess all one can say is welcome to Division One! To be fair, the Eagles are balling with almost an entirely different crew then last year. They’re hanging but are having a hard time getting over the hump. Perhaps week three will help the cause.
12. +1 Coventry (2 – 3) – Woe to any top five team entering the Oaker Palace! Pretty interesting that Coventry’s two wins are La Salle and Cranston East. That tells me it’s in there and their home gym is no fun to play in. The question is, can they just take care of the middle of the pack guys?
13. –1 East Greenwich (1 – 4) – The four losses look tough, but then again, their schedule hasn’t been a cupcake round either. NK is NK, but the Chariho match they’d love to have back.
14. Portsmouth (5 – 0) – I’m a fan of this team. Got a nice pin, a big middle, and some grit. Right now, the D3 favorite, far and away. Even Bad Boy Ben is a fan. They’ve not dropped a set, and everything looks good for week three.
15. Pawtucket (4 – 1) – Apparently, I was the only one sort of looking at Pawtucket thinking they might be in some trouble. Maybe is was the loss to Lincoln that gave me pause, but even then they fought the Lions tooth and nail. Shows what I know…
Receiving Votes… Central Falls, Mt. Hope, Central, Juanita Sanchez
ResV Player of the Week…
Week One - Ben Warr - Bishop Hendricken
Week Two – Henry Kenyon - Westerly – Monster week for Kenyon. Started with 7 kills, 6 blocks against Juanita Sanchez, then an 18 kill, 5 block effort against Lincoln. He then put up 24 kills, 5 blocks, and 9 digs at Chariho…all while running a traditional middle position. As one official put it, “The kid playing middle for Westerly is an absolute beast!”
ResV Honorable Baller of the Week…
Week One – Nate Paciga – Westerly
Week Two – Zach Gessman – East Greenwich – Gessman put up big numbers this week, especially when the Avengers hosted Cranston East. 13 kills later, and a very grateful to win Cranston East team, Gessman did a great job scoring against one of the biggest blocks the state has to offer. Zach is also asked to be a primary passer and jump top spin serve for his club, making EG a club that’s no fun to play.
Playoff Races Through Week One…
Division One:
North Kingstown – La Salle win on the road tells the story.
Bishop Hendricken – Keeping pace, but week three will really decide if they belong in the top five.
LaSalle Academy – Dropping to NK in three at home, means they have work to do.
Cranston East – Loss to Coventry on the road may be a cause for concern.
Division Two:
Lincoln – Look to have all the parts and they’re battle tested too.
Westerly – Two very tough losses in week two, but they’re absolutely a pain in the butt to play.
Pawtucket – Have righted the ship, and maybe I was the only one who thought they were in rough seas…
Central Falls – If they have their full team available, no one wants to play them.
Division Three:
Portsmouth – Have two of the top players in D3, and they are pretty hard to stop.
Mt. Hope – Top pin is a handful and they play pretty solid defense.
Achievement First – Serving tough and have made a big jump.
St. Raphael’s – Are two up and only one down. Today’s match against Mt. Hope will be big.
ResV Coaching Tip of the Week:
Simple one for this week for obvious reasons. If you have to send a free ball over, make the setter play it. Easier said then done, for sure, but if you have to send a free, getting the setter to play it, immediately puts your opponent in a tough situation. Secondary hands is often not taught, let alone perfected. At the better levels, the Libero will probably set that ball high which will make the odds even when you send three blockers. At the more beginning level, coaches like to have their Opposite take it or Middle. Either way, those attacking options are now gone and you can send your blockers hard to the attacker.
ResV Player Tip of the Week:
This player tip goes out the bench guys. Everybody loves the bench guys if their attitude is good. It’s your job to be paying attention to the match and staying warm in case your number is called. How do you do that? Well, the paying attention part is pretending you’re on the floor in each rally and thinking how you’d play that rally. Staying warm? Well, that’s the fun part. All those chants, bouncing, and sometimes skits is to keep you warm and ready. Now, don’t be jerk over there. Be all about your team and play to the crowd a little. If the crowd cheers because you and your teammates did a fun sketch, that’s awesome! If you can make the line judge or the officials smile or laugh, you’re legendary! Remember as well, that often in an opponent’s gym, you and your teammates are the only fans for your team in the gym! Never cost your team and never be hostile to the opposition or the crowd, but have fun and be creative. And, if you number gets called, go kill it!