MSC overcomes injury
Brett Gould injury thrusts Paul Brodeur into spotlight
WOONSOCKET — Mount St. Charles junior All-State setter Brett Gould has run nearly every Mountie attack over the last three seasons, but minutes prior to Friday night’s Division I showdown with Coventry, Gould rolled his right ankle when he landed on a teammate’s foot while warming up for the match.
Fellow junior Paul Brodeur, whose setting experience consists of running the team opposite Gould in practice and garbage time in blowout matches, was thrust into the spotlight.
For one set, the spotlight looked too bright for the junior, as Coventry dominated the Mounties and handed them their first set loss of the season.
“I was as scared as you could be and if you saw my hands in the first set, they were shaking,” Brodeur said. “I tried bumping a lot of balls and I didn’t try to set them. I was trying to be smart. When I saw the score and we were down, I knew I had to get the energy up. I started to settle in.”
After the shock of Gould’s injury wore off, the Mounties started playing like the state title favorites they are. Brodeur smartly started setting All-State senior outside hitter Jarod Tessier and right-side Tom Cahaly as often as possible. Somehow, the Mounties found their way past the Oakers, 15-25, 25-20, 2514, 23-25, 15-8, in a Division I classic on Logee Street.
“Everyone just started playing better as a team and we rallied around each other,” Tessier said after delivering a match-high 28 kills to go along with four digs. “SK is a really good team and Coventry is also a really good team. We’re lucky we’re still undefeated. Yes, we did drop two sets, but that’s not as big a deal. We got lucky, but it’s a good thing we practice all these things every day.”
Coventry (5-4 Division I) received a team-high 19 kills, six blocks and four digs from middle hitter Greg DeNegris, while senior setter Matt Johnson produced 34 assists, four kills, three blocks and two aces in the defeat.
The Oakers, who have been to the semifinals in each of the last five seasons and were state champions in 2013 and 2015, are in a bit of a transition. With senior outside hitter Matt Buglio still out with a high-ankle sprain, coach Jonathan Bartlett is using three sophomores in his lineup, including Brandon Paglia and Troy Osterhout.
“In retrospect, I feel like we played our best game of the season,” Bartlett said. “We’ve been up and down and a different lineup almost every game because of injuries and school vacation. We’re looking for something that’s going to work and I like what I saw. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted, but we have a lot of young guys out there.”
Mount St. Charles (6-0 Division I) had- n’t dropped a set all season, but the dropped two on Friday. The Mounties were down by as many as six points midway through the fourth set, but they battled back to close the gap to one (22-21) after a Coventry error. The Oakers won the set on a DeNegris kill to the back corner.
The Mounties simply dominated the fifth set behind the blocking of senior middle Michael DelliCarpini. Coventry led 32, but then the Mounties went on an 11-2 run to take complete control of the match and finish the season sweep of the Oakers.
DelliCarpini had a match-high 10 blocks to go along with two kills, while fellow middle Greg Lynch added 11 kills and nine blocks.
“It’s a great testament to what our kids do in practice to make that adjustment,” Mount coach Josh D’Abate said. “Clearly, the first game, we weren’t ready. We couldn’t get our feet underneath us. We settled down in the second game and played really well in the third. Coventry played really well in the fourth.
“I think we passed the ball really well in the second and third games to make (Brodeur’s job) a little easier and allow him to make good decisions. This is one of the better matches we’ve been involved.”
Tessier and the Mounties actually split the opening six points of the match, but then reality set in for a team that has relied on Gould for the last three seasons. Poor passing and an out-of-system attack helped DeNegris and the Oakers open a 17-7 lead in the opening set.
Coventry went on to win the set by 10 and then built a one-point lead in the second. But, that’s when Brodeur found his footing and the Mounties took off. Mount went on a 10-3 run. Tessier had a number of kills to even the match
“Tom and I definitely told Paul that we’re the wing hitters and he could get us the ball at anytime whether we were in the back row or the front row,” Tessier said. “Greg was on and so was Mike. We were going to make due with whatever we got.”
The Mounties jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the third set and the Oakers never could close the gap. Mount built leads of 10-10 and 23-12 to take the 2-1 lead.
Coventry responded by never trailing in the fourth set before the Mounties dominated the fifth.
“Clearly, the first game, we weren’t ready. We couldn’t get our feet underneath us. We settled down in the second game and played really well in the third.” – MSC coach Josh D’Abate