’Canes sweep Titans for 2-0 start

Posted 4/8/14

When Warwick Vets withstood a late surge by Toll Gate in game one of Thursday’s boys’ volleyball match, Vets head coach Brendan Friel turned to the bench.

“I actually said to my assistant …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

’Canes sweep Titans for 2-0 start

Posted

When Warwick Vets withstood a late surge by Toll Gate in game one of Thursday’s boys’ volleyball match, Vets head coach Brendan Friel turned to the bench.

“I actually said to my assistant coach, ‘Last year, we probably would have lost that game,’” Friel said.

Not this year. The Hurricanes beat the Titans 25-23 in game one and cruised from there, posting a sweep with 25-13 and 25-12 victories in the next two games. The win moved Vets to 2-0 on the young season and was another sign that, after some rough years, things are changing for the better.

“I’m really blessed this season,” Friel said. “They’ve really come together well already. They’re a great group of kids. You ask them to go above and beyond and they do it. They’re asking me, ‘What can we do better, coach?’ They really get along well. This has been a very good start for us.”

The ’Canes don’t plan to rest on their laurels but the first week was still worth celebrating. They beat Classical 3-0 on Wednesday and were right back at it Thursday for the sweep over Toll Gate.

Just two years ago, the ’Canes won one game all season. Last year, they won five.

“We’ve been doing a lot of extra practices,” Friel said. “Guys have been willing to come in on the weekends and work hard. We’ve been able to put them in a lot of situations and catch the newer guys up. I think it’s paying off.”

Toll Gate fell to 0-2 as it tries to get its footing under new head coach Ryan Garno. The Titans are looking to rebuild after an 0-18 season last year. Numbers are good and so is the work ethic, but on the court, things are still under construction.

“We’re still rough, “Garno said. “We’re still searching for a lineup and we need more practice time. We need more time in the gym. It’s always a work in progress every year, but especially with the team we have this year, we’ve got work to do.”

The ’Canes took control of game one with a 7-1 start and a run of eight straight later in the game sparked by three consecutive Trevor Hassell aces. Pepe Phanhsena landed a tip to make it 23-16.

That’s when the Titans made their run. Jacob Johnson got on a hot streak at the service line, drilling three aces to power a run of seven points in a row that tied the game at 23-23.

“It was all serving,” Garno said. “Jake got in a rhythm. A hot server’s not going to miss.”

The Titans also got a kill from Chris Durand in the run, and even when Johnson wasn’t hitting aces, his tough serves were keeping the ’Canes from getting their offense going.

But the run finally ended on a Toll Gate hitting error. With new life, Vets quickly seized it. Hassell stepped to the serving line and put a good ball over the net. The Titans sent a free ball back, which allowed Vets to get into its attack. Phanhsena put up a set and Mike Riccitelli slammed down a kill.

Just like that, the ’Canes had held on.

“Responding to it the way we did was good to see,” Friel said.

Vets started game two with a 4-0 burst on two aces by Justin Batista, a kill by Phanhsena and a block by Riccitelli. The Titans made it a three-point game at 10-7 but ultimately never led. Three straight aces by Kyle Veyera sparked a run of eight in a row, and the ’Canes coasted to the 25-13 win.

It was more of the same in game three as Vets again jumped to a 4-0 lead and never trailed. This time, the Titans got within three at 15-12 before the ’Canes ended the game with 10 straight points. Hassell had a block, while Phanhsena delivered a kill and finished off the win with a return that found an open spot, after a diving dig by Anthony Ferri.

Phanhsena finished with five kills and two blocks, while Hassell had six kills, four aces and three blocks.

The biggest key to success for the ’Canes was their service work. They had 10 aces on the night.

“It all starts with serves, especially early in the season,” Friel said. “You make the service mistakes, you give them free points. If we get our serves in, we’re going to do fine.”

On the other side, the Titans will be working on their serve receive game.

“That’s where we need work,” Garno said. “The Achilles’ heel of most teams is passing. The quicker we can shore that up, the better we’ll be.”

The Titans will also be searching for the right combinations in their lineup, but the emergence of Johnston gives them a strong place. The senior – who was a standout for the Titans basketball team in the winter – is playing volleyball for the first time. He had six kills on Thursday.

“He’s a pleasant surprise,” Garno said. “It’s his first time playing. I think phys-ed is probably the only time he’s played. He came in raw but aggressive.”

The Titans will visit Classical on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. as they chase their first victory. Even with the tough first week, things seem to be moving in the right direction.

“The guys are enthusiastic, they look to work hard and we’ve got good numbers,” Garno said. “Those are all positive things that we’re going to build a program off of. Those are the things that are making the foundation. The other things will come in.”

Vets was set to be back in action on Monday against Central.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here