Warriors make early statement

Central Falls overcomes defending Division III champion Saints

PAWTUCKET – Three times Thursday night, the Central Falls girls’ volleyball team wasted little time in seizing control of the game.

Three times, host St. Raphael – the defending Division III champs – rallied to make matters interesting. In the end, the Warriors’ ability to string together points in the early stages proved to be the difference in a season-opening 3-1 victory at Alumni Hall.

C.F. dropped the first game by a 25-18 score, then jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Game 2. The Warriors ended up holding on, 25-22. In Game 3, the visitors held leads of 12-7 and 22-14 before SRA mounted a charge that ultimately fell short, 25-20.

In Game 4, Central Falls once again struck early and often. This time, the scoring run stretched to 6-zip. Like they did in each of the two preceding games, the Saints narrowed the gap to the point where it became a toss-up as match point appeared on the horizon.

St. Raphael moved to within 20-18 and was down one (24-23) when C.F. sophomore Joana Rodrigues came through with a strong play at the net that sealed the match.

C.F. dropped down from Division II and lost three starters for COVID-19 reasons. Head coach Richard Sousa was proud of the way the Warriors were able to pull together – particularly when things got tight. Rodrigues was one of the top contributors (11 kills, four aces) while senior Savanna Martinez had seven kills.

“We lost the first game, but I thought we were right there with them,” said Sousa. “Coming out to those fast starts, we were able to put pressure on them.”

For the Saints, the road to repeating as D-III champs figures to get better as new players gel with key holdovers. Junior Victoria Adgeboyega led the Saints with 14 points while senior Athena Rodrigues collected 40 digs. Junior Allajah Perryman finished with six kills and 22 digs while SRA head coach Cory Linhares was pleased with the lift provided by freshman Olivia DeMacedo (team-best seven aces).

“We’re still learning as a unit,” said Linhares. “I’m glad we got a good team out of the way in the first match of the season.”

Photos by Ernest A. Brown The Central Falls girls volleyball team made a big statement in its first match of the season with a four-game win over Victoria Adegboyega, above, and reigning D-III champion St. Raphael.

Photo by Ernest A. Brown Central Falls outside hitter Daniesha Manzueta (2) and the Warriors secured a fourgame victory over defending Division III champion St. Raphael Wednesday night.