Lions locked in for final
No. 2 Lions play for first title this afternoon at RIC
Lincoln plays for volleyball championship
PROVIDENCE — The last time the No. 2 Lincoln girls volleyball team played No. 1 East Greenwich, the Lions were a tired squad that went out and played its worst match of the season.
The two teams meet again this afternoon at 2:30 at Rhode Island College’s Murray Center for the Di- vision II title. And if their performances in their first two playoff matches are any indication, the Lions go into match playing their best volleyball of the season.
After allowing just 41 points in an easy sweep of No. 3 Chariho in the quarterfinals, the Lions played even better in their semifinal match against Division II-B champion Burrillville. Led by outside hitters Olivia Wodogaza and Laila Mostello-Wetherbee, the Lions gave up just 39 points in a sweep of the talented Broncos.
“They caught us at a very weak time because we were in the middle of a five-matchin-seven-day stretch which included a tournament two days before at CCRI,” Lincoln coach Kyle Medeiros said Wednesday afternoon.
“We didn’t have our legs under us and we lost that second game 25-23 after being up 23-18. I think the 3-0 was a little misleading. If you put us on the court, it’s a very even matchup. If we can take our perfect team collaboration from the other night, it’s going to be a great match for both teams.”
East Greenwich (18-1 Division II) on the other hand, had to battle back from a 2-0 deficit to No. 2 Classical to advance to their second consecutive Division II title game. The Avengers, whose lone loss this season was a five-game setback to the Lions in September, are led by a number of talented players, including senior outside hitter Vivian Goulet and senior setter Jules Abella.
East Greenwich coach Justin Amaral said the key to winning the program’s first title since 2014 is the same key for all six volleyball teams who will play for titles today – effort and energy.
“I think it’s really going to come down to momentum and energy,” said Amaral, who was a standout outside hitter at Warwick Vets during his scholastic days. “Lincoln has a very good team and I think we match up well against them. The first time it went to five and the second time we caught them on their heels and they weren’t ready for it. We watched them play in the semifinals and they shut out Burrillville.”
Lincoln’s (18-1 Division II) postseason dominance can be boiled down to two factors – serving and outside hitting. Medeiros said the Lions executed their serving game plan perfectly in Tuesday’s sweep of Burrillville, while Wodogaza and Mastello-Wetherbee took advantage of a lack of blocking to terminate points.
Of course, the Lions have other offensive weapons at the ready for senior setter Victoria Ryan. Senior middles Emma Gianetti and Nicole Lezon will both be important against a tall EG squad, while right-side hitter Hannah Schermerhorn will likely be matched up against Goulet.
“Vivian’s a great hitter who was an All-State player from last year,” Medeiros said. “She’s the spoon that stirs the pot so to speak for that team. When she’s going well, they’re tough to beat. We really can’t focus on just her because they have a great setter who has great hands and can put the ball where she wants it, two strong middles and they play great defense.”
From Amaral’s perspective, the key to beating Lincoln is slowing down Gianetti and Lezon, which the Avengers did by taking the Lions out of system with tough serving in the sweep last month.
“They have some big girls, but we matched them at the net in our games,” Amaral said. “We really have to control the ball at the net and try to shut down their big middles. We have to come out swinging and it’s important to get that first game to build some confidence. If we can get that first game, it will go a long way.”
Medeiros said he watched a replay of the Burrillville match during his lunch break Wednesday and he marveled at how far the squad has come in the last 14 months. After winning just four games in 2016 and four more in 2017, the Lions won a school-record 18 matches this season to reach the programs’s first title game.
On the other side of the court, East Greenwich has won at least 11 matches in each of the last seven seasons. This will be the third time in the last five seasons the Avengers have played for the Division II title.
Will experience matter? Amaral hopes so, while Medeiros believes his experience in title games will help his veteran squad.
“It matters in the sense of knowing how to prepare because if it’s your first time there, you can have a little deer in headlights where they don’t know how big a stage it is,” Medeiros said. “I was there as a player and [assistant coach Lyndsey Sweeney] won a state title at Coventry. We’re able to help the girls as much as you can without playing at that stage.”
“I think experience goes a long way because you go into these gyms and there’s a lot more people than a normal match,” Amaral said. “The gym is usually bigger. I hope that works to our advantage, but Lincoln has plenty of girls who play year round, so they’ve been in this spot before. They probably will be ready for it.”