Mounties overcome Hawks in 5, play for title
Mount reaches first state final; will face SK
PROVIDENCE — It wasn’t how the Mount St. Charles boys volleyball team drew it up. But the Mounties will gladly take it.
After falling in a two-games-tonone hole to No. 4 seed Bishop Hendricken, the No. 1 seed Mounties rattled off three straight wins to take the Division I semifinal-round contest in five games on Thursday night. The Mounties will return to Brown University’s Pizzitola Center on Saturday night to face No. 2 South Kingstown with the state title on the line.
The usual suspects anchored the Mounties’ comeback. Senior Jarod Tessier had 35 kills while junior Brett Gould passed for 48 assists. Fellow 11th graders Michael DelliCarpini (six kills, six blocks) and libero Dan Gould (18 digs) were also instrumental.
MSC head coach Josh D’Abate attributed to what happened as the result of a team that was looking to get back on track following a lengthy layoff. Mounties wrapped things up with a 15-11 win in Game 5. The Hawks won the first two games by scores of 25-18 and 25-20 before the Mounties responded with wins in Game 3 (25-16) and Game 4 (25-22).
Hendricken couldn’t have scripted a better start to the match.
The Hawks raced out to a 9-3 lead before withstanding three straight points from the Mounties, the last one courtesy of strong net play by DelliCarpini. Now up 11- 8, Hendricken lengthened its lead behind an 8-2 run that pinned MSC in too deep of a hole to overcome.
The Hawks followed up their Game 1 triumph with an equally impressive showing in the second game. Tied at 17, a kill by Anthony Witherstone spurred Hendricken to three straight points. Back-to-back kills by DelliCarpini and Tessier brought Mount to within 21-19, but Hendricken finished up strong to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Given the wealth of talent on MSC’s roster, you knew the Mounties would do everything in their power to avoid getting swept. Mount transformed a 9-8 edge into a commanding 20-9 lead as a number of hitting errors by Hendricken helped the No. 1 seed gain substantial traction for the first time all evening. MSC closed the third game with more help from the Hawks and a by Tessier that doubled as the game’s clinching point.
MSC’s comeback bid continued to gain traction thanks to DelliCarpini, who put his team up 11-10 in Game 4. Hendricken enjoyed an 18-14 lead before five straight points by Mount set the stage for a dramatic finish. The Hawks erased a 22-20 deficit to tie the game, but an error and a kill by Tessier helped bring the Mounties achieve clinching-point status. The point needed to force a winner-take-all game was notched as that 2-0 hole now seemed like a distant memory.
“The deeper the match went, the more we figured some things out,” D’Abate said,” but we can’t play like that on Saturday. Otherwise it will be a short day.”
The Mounties and Rebels met twice during the regular season with each team earning a home sweep.