Knights top Lincoln
LINCOLN — The Lincoln girls volleyball team was looking forward to its first home match of the truncated season after promising performances in road losses to talented West Warwick and Chariho.
The Lions, who were without three rotation players for COVID reasons, faced a taller Exeter/West Greenwich side fresh off a solid win over the Wizards. The Lions received solid performances from up-and-coming middle hitters Casey Weaver and Andrayah Williams, but that was just about the only positive that came out of the Division II match.
Led by talented middle hitter Avery Leblanc and crafty setter Jillian Lesinski, the Scarlet Knights controlled the 65-minute match. The Knights left Lincoln Middle School with a 25-21, 25-216, 25-15 victory Tuesday night.
“We beat ourselves in this match,” second-year Lincoln coach Lyndsey Sweeney said. “The first two matches we played, we played way better than this. We had a big mentality problem today and I don’t know what it was. The energy was flat and everyone was nervous, but we don’t have a crowd, so I don’t understand it.”
Lincoln (0-3 Division II) went to the Division II title match as recently as 2018 and the Lions were a playoff team again last season, but were knocked out by the Scarlet Knights in the first round. Sweeney believes her team is in a bit of a transition, but there’s still too much talent on the court to call the spring campaign a rebuild.
Senior setter Hailey Gagnon is one of the few players in the front row who won’t be back when the next season starts in just five months. Along with the middles, juniors Sophia Dowicki, Alexia Noel, Aisha Sarr and Elliana Wu are all back next season.
“We had three basketball players come back to us this season who are very talented, but they just need more reps and it’s hard to get reps in this season,” Sweeney said. “It’s kind of like last season when we had Anna [Vygoder] where if we can teach Andrayah all the things quick, she’s going to be a beast. We have a lot of young talent, but I have high expectations.
“I really want to see this senior class reach its highest potential, but a lot of that comes with our mentality. If we build this team correctly, we will be very strong next season.”
Exeter-West Greenwich (2-1 Division II) started the season with a loss to talented Burrillville in the Broncodome, but the Knights have bounced back with a pair of impressive wins. With Emily Raleigh at the service line, the Knights scored the match’s first four points and never gave the Lions a chance to grab control of the match.
Lincoln battled back late in the game to make it 23-21, but the Knights scored the final two points to take the opening game. The Knights, again, never trailed in the second game to take complete control of the match.
The Lions showed signs of life in the third game and it all came because of the middle duo. Williams, a junior, delivered a thunderous block on a LeBlanc attack to close the gap to just four. Weaver, a freshman, also played well in the first half of the game. The Lions, however, fell apart in the second half of the game and were swept.
“[Weaver] played club volleyball for
South County volleyball, so she came in with experience and a very good skill set for a freshman,” Sweeney said. “She has an excellent attitude and she’s a good athlete, so I’m very excited to see what she’s going to do over the next four years.”
Weaver’s next assignment is to help the
Lions secure their first win of the season and their next opportunity is Thursday night when Johnston comes to Lincoln Middle School for a 6 o’clock contest.