The Cranston West Falcons crushed the Toll Gate Titans, 3-0, on Friday night at Cranston West. Although Falcons’ captain setter Ryan Murphy was out due to a sore thumb, West still rolled while Christian Martinelli replaced him.

“He hasn’t set,” Cranston West head coach Roger Tow said of Martinelli. “He hasn’t practiced. He hasn’t done anything at all, but he stepped in and did a nice job.”

Martinelli had 26 assists in the match.

“It was a good test for us because, when you have a new setter, the timing is off,” Tow added.

For West, Matt Sepe contributed six kills, Andrew Albro had seven and Brett Bucci and Jamey Campopiano each had five kills.

The Titans pulled within 8-2 in the opening set after junior Tristan Wyns blocked an attack attempt from Martinelli. Soon after, West increased its lead to 13-2 after Brett Bucci poked one past the Titans. Then, Toll Gate’s Rory Dobbins came up with an attack block on Bucci to pull the Titans within 13-3. Toll Gate pulled closer at 15-4 when Colin Russell set up Aidan Estrella for the kill.

West’s Matt Fryer put the Falcons up, 17-5, and then sophomore Charles Pisaturo added to the West lead before Bucci scored an attack block on Estrella, putting West up, 19-5. The Falcons continued their domination when Pisaturo served an ace, going up, 20-5, before forcing Toll Gate to call a timeout.  

Toll Gate penalties at the end of the set would give West a 25-6 win in the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.

West’s Sepe got an attack block on Wyns to take an early, 1-0 lead in the second set. West got it to 6-0 before Toll Gate got on the board.

West’s Ben Mattiello committed a service error, resulting in the Titans’ first point. Next, Martinelli spiked one past Toll Gate’s Max Laiter and Ryan Sgroi to go up 7-1. Then, senior Joe Accetta scored to put West up, 9-3. Next, a spike from Bucci put West on top, 10-3, before Campopiano got them to 11-3.

Laiter had a kill for Toll Gate to pull them to 14-6, but West kept the Titans out of reach. Then Martinelli got an attack block on Wyns to extend West’s lead to 15-7. Next, Martinelli assisted to Sepe for a point, giving West a 16-8 edge. Soon after, Sepe went on a tear, scoring four straight points and helping West to a 22-8 lead.

Toll Gate’s Laiter and Sgroi combined for a double block on Campopiano to pull the Titans to 22-9. Then, Martinelli assisted to Campopiano, extending the West lead to 23-9. The Falcons cruised to a 25-9 win of the second set after an illegal hit against Toll Gate on the final play.

Strong play from Sgroi put Toll Gate up, 7-4, early in the third set.

However, West would climb back in it and tie the set at 7 when Toll Gate mishandled several returns. Accetta put West up, 8-7. West increased its lead to 10-7 after two straight points while Fryer served.

Toll Gate’s Dobbins stopped the West rally when he batted down a return to pull the Titans to 10-8. Soon after, West’s Albro scored with a spike to go up, 11-9. Next, Toll Gate sophomore Colin Russell assisted to Laiter for a spike into the campfire, making it 11-10 West. The teams kept the kills going when West’s Bucci smashed one at the centerline before Toll Gate’s Russell set up Wyns for a slam.

After a service error by Toll Gate’s Alexis Beltran, West controlled the momentum, going up 19-11. Points on the rally came from Campopiano, Sepe and Albro.   

Campopiano put West up, 20-12. Next, Matt Walsh came up with an attack block for Toll Gate on Jester Lippert, pulling the Titans to 20-13.

West’s Kevin Hanley batted one past Wyns to extend the lead to 22-13. Next, Sepe served an ace to put West up, 23-13. On game point, Sepe served and the Titans’ Estrella returned into the net, earning the Falcons a 25-13 win of the set and a 3-0 win in the match.

Garno said he can take some positives out of the game, though.

“We know that Cranston West is tough,” Garno said. “They’re always tough in their building, especially. It’s a great place to play. Really great fans, so usually it’s a playoff-type atmosphere whether it’s the girls’ season or the guys’ season. I’m looking forward to seeing them the next time around, when we get a little bit more seasoning underneath their belts.”