MSC loaded; Northmen rebuilding
Mounties eyeing first state championship
WOONSOCKET — Had the North Smithfield boys volleyball team made the short trip down Route 104 to face Mount St. Charles two seasons ago, it would’ve been a superb match between a veteran Northmen squad and a talented Mountie team.
Unfortunately for the Northmen, they made the trip to Mount Thursday night to face one of the favorites to win the state title in the Injury Fund. Jeff Crins’ rebuilding squad showed glimpses of a team that can challenge in Division II, but the D-I Mounties proved to be too much in a 50-minute sweep.
“We’re young. We have a lot of sophomores,” Crins said after his team’s final dress rehearsal before the start of the season Tuesday against Mt. Hope. “We’ll start fresh and look to get better. The disadvantage of kids not playing all year is that I only have them for two months and we have to play catch up. By mid-season, we get to playing form.”
Mount St. Charles coach Josh D’Abate finds himself on the other end of the spectrum, as he returns nearly every player from last season’s team, which suffered a defeat to state champion South Kingstown in the Division I semifinals.
With three-year starters Jarod Tessier, Brett Gould and Dan Gould back in the fold, the Mounties are viewed around the state as one of the teams to beat this season. D’Abate, whose squad has yet to play in the state final, said his team has a long way to go before it can think about a state championship.
“I think we have a lot of work to do,” D’Abate said. “I think we have the foundation to be a really, really good team. Until we get tested and see where we are, it’s tough to kind of see where we’re at. We think we have a long way to go. We have a lot of talented kids and a lot of experience, but it’s early. Until someone says otherwise, South Kingstown is the team to beat.”
Tessier, a first-team All-State selection last season as a junior outside hitter, is expected to be setter Brett Gould’s main target this season. Tessier recorded 298 hills and his hitting percentage was .406. D’Abate said he loves the way Tessier plays defense and hits the ball, but he wants to see a new element added to the senior’s game.
D’Abate knows Tessier can terminate the ball through any block, but he’s looking for the Mountie to refine different parts of his offensive game.
“The goal for him this year is he has to learn to mix his shots up,” D’Abate said. “Rolls, tips and some off-speed stuff; if you can mix that in effectively, I think will be in great shape offensively.”
Because Tessier can play outside, in the middle or on the right side, D’Abate has plenty of options when it comes to developing a rotation. Junior Paul Brodeur and Nate Asstafan are battling for outside hitter spots, while returning starters Greg Lynch and Tom Cahaly are two other talented hitters.
Another offensive option is Dan Gould, who has been the team’s libero for each of the last two seasons. D’Abate said if Gould sees time as a hitter, he has capable replacement liberos Matt Melnychuk and Brodeur.
“Danny’s one of our best hitters, so to stick him in the back row, I don’t know if that makes us better,” D’Abate said. “If we don’t lose him on the floor at all, we’ll get his defense along with his hitting.”
The Mounties will find out very quickly where they stand because, for the second straight season, they will begin the campaign with a road contest against state runner-up La Salle. The Rams likely won’t face the same lineup in any game because D’Abate hopes to take advantage of the versatility of his roster.
“I like the flexibility and the way that we can roll out the same guys in multiple formations – almost like a football team,” D’Abate said. “We can run a certain lineup in one game and then change the lineup for another game. If we play good defense, it won’t matter where people play. As long as we trust our teammates, we’ll be successful.”
While D’Abate is already scheming up different lineups, Crins is focused on getting his inexperienced team to find success as a cohesive unit. The Northmen graduated a pair of talented middle hitters, including all-division talent Adam Carey, along with their starting setter.
Crins said his offense will go from middle-hitter oriented to a more of an outside attack with senior multiple-sport standouts Tyler Cook and Sean Murphy likely starting.
“Tyler’s going to be a strong offensive player this year,” Crins said. “I think he’s going to be that go-to hitter for us. Sean Murphy is going to be a good all-around go-to guy. I enjoy this type of team, it’s coaching. The team we had two years ago, I haven’t had a team like that in my 17 years of coaching.”
Juniors Noah Darveau and Tejas Bhatia will likely start Tuesday’s game against the Huskies in the middle.
Last season’s Division II champion, Cranston West, was moved up to Division I, while a number of former Division II powerhouses are back in the division after some lean years in D-I. Tolman, Barrington and Pilgrim should strengthen a division that also features reigning finalist Central and semifinalists West Warwick and Cranston East.
“I think we’re always competitive in our division and last year we finished right behind Central,” Crins said. “We play everyone once this year, so I’m not sure how it’s going to pan out. I like to play teams twice because you figure things out and get better and make adjustments.”