Mounties survive
WOONSOCKET — The firstplace Mount St. Charles volleyball team has reached the juncture of the season where simply surviving a five-game match against one of the best teams in the state isn’t good enough.
With the playoffs on the horizon and the Mounties looking for their first state title after coming up agonizingly close in last season’s five-game thriller against South Kingstown, the Mounties are eying improvement and execution.
Visiting Coventry used a matchhigh 21 kills and six blocks from junior Brendan McGrath to take the first and fourth games and tie the fifth game at eight. The Mounties, however, responded in the fifth game by playing some of their best volleyball of the season.
Paul Brodeur and Mike DelliCarpini delivered important side-out
kills to lead Mount to a 27-29, 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 15-11 home win over the Oakers Friday night.
“A win is a win, but we did not do a lot of things well tonight,” Mount coach Josh D’Abate said. “Our serving was ugly and we made a lot of mistakes. Coventry played really well and they controlled the net and served well. Any time you get a win against a good team, we’ll take it. We just kept fighting even though it was a hot night. The kids worked through the things they needed to work through.”
“After the fourth game we just said we have to work as a team, and I think that’s what we did,” said Brodeur, a senior right-side hitter. “We’re just pushing forward and hoping for the best. Our teamwork is our strength.”
Coventry (10-4 Division I) is almost certainly going to be the No. 3 seed in the playoffs after suffering back-to-back five game defeats. The Oakers have now played six five-game matches and are in the midst of their toughest stretch of the season. The Oakers host second-place Hendricken Monday, before finishing the season Friday in East Providence.
“In my opinion, I thought we played well regardless of the outcome,” Coventry coach Jonathan Bartlett said. “We played good defense – we actually played like we’ve been practicing. Mount just had some crazy digs that you just don’t think should be coming back. They play all-around solid defense and just make you hit an extra two shots to win a point.”
Mount St. Charles (13-1 Division I) can clinch the No. 1 seed in the state tournament for the second straight season with a victory over East Providence Wednesday night in Woonsocket. Friday, a number of Mounties played an
integral role in finishing off the season sweep of Coventry.
Senior right-side hitter/setter Brett Gould led the way with 30 assists and five kills. D’Abate, however, was frustrated by the seven service errors the All-Stater committed. Senior outside hitter Nate Asstafan had eight kills and six digs, while All-Stater Dan Gould had nine kills and eight digs. Mike DelliCarpini had a team-high 15 kills and eight blocks.
“We talk about being consistent on a daily basis at practice,” D’Abate said. “We’re not going to go out and overpower teams, but we can be consistent with great defense and having great ball control.
The Oakers, who also received 22 digs from libero Michele Picozzi, forced a fifth game by going to McGrath and middle hitter Jordan Carpenter. Coventry trailed by one point three times early in the fourth game before opening up a 12-8 lead to force a Mount timeout. Cov-
entry led by as many as six points in the middle of the game before settling for a four-point win.
“I feel like we still have room to grow, but it’s looking up,” Bartlett said. “I have no complaints about how the guys played tonight and if we eliminate some of the service errors, we’re right in it. We’ve played plenty of fiveset matches this year – we do this on a night in, night out basis.”
Coventry scored the first point in the final game on a block by Carpenter, but the Mounties responded with three straight points. The game was tied at eight when the Mounties scored two straight points to grab a lead they would never relinquish. Brodeur delivered one of the biggest kills late in the game, when his tip after a Coventry soft block put Mount up 12-10.
“That kill felt really good and that was a great set by Brett,” Brodeur said. “I love him for that, it was great.”