Pats win again, jump up to second in division

Posted 10/21/14

East Greenwich leads the Division II-South volleyball circuit with a 13-0 record. Nobody is close to the Avengers, but almost everybody else is close to each other, making for crucial matches between …

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Pats win again, jump up to second in division

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East Greenwich leads the Division II-South volleyball circuit with a 13-0 record. Nobody is close to the Avengers, but almost everybody else is close to each other, making for crucial matches between those teams.

Pilgrim keeps rising to the top in those matches.

The Patriots beat Cranston East 3-1 on Thursday for their seventh victory in their last eight matches. Since a 1-3 start to the season, Pilgrim has only lost to East Greenwich. Against everybody else – including teams like Cranston East, Cranston West and West Warwick that they’re neck-and-neck with – the Pats have prevailed.

“We’re playing well,” said Pilgrim head coach Kelly Harrington. “The girls are doing a fantastic job. We’re working together as a team. The girls are willing to work hard and put in the effort, and it’s paying off. Every match for us is one step closer to the playoffs.”

The Pats are now 8-4, tied with Cranston West for second place – and a half-game ahead of 8-5 Cranston East – in D-II-South. It’s been a steady rise for the Pats, who regrouped quickly after losing three of their first four matches.

“We’ve improved in our skills,” Harrington said. “Our middles are hitting well, our hitters are hitting. The whole goal of this year is to attack and have the girls play aggressively every night. Winning has given them a little extra confidence, and I think most importantly, we’re having fun.”

The signature win came a week prior to Thursday’s match, when Pilgrim and Toll Gate engaged in an epic, five-game tilt. Pilgrim won the fifth game 23-21 as the teams kept trading points, well past the 15-point mark that clinches a fifth game.

“It was one of those epic matches that comes along every few years,” Harrington said. “I was happy that the girls got to experience that – 23-21, you don’t see that very often. What it just shows is the determination of both times not to let a ball drop. Both teams were just fighting to the bitter end.”

East Greenwich stopped Pilgrim’s win streak there, with a sweep last Tuesday, but even that offered positives. Pilgrim lost 25-23, 25-15 and 25-20.

“We gave them a competitive match, which I was excited about,” Harrington said.

On Thursday, Pilgrim dropped the first game against East 25-18. The ’Bolts beat Pilgrim 3-1 the first time they met and were quickly on the same path in the rematch.

“Game one, we started off slow and we felt like we playing catch-up the whole time,” Harrington said. “We couldn’t really get into a rhythm. Cranston East served well and they don’t let the ball drop. They don’t make it easy. We knew we were going to be in for a battle.”

But in game two, Pilgrim stayed closer and rallied from a 22-19 deficit with four straight points. Colleen Conti had two kills, while Megan St. Jacques had a kill and a block.

East got to 24-23, but a kill by Conti on the next point landed just inside the end-line to tie the score. Nancy Alvarez followed with an ace and Emma Thibodeau finished a long point with a block to give Pilgrim the 26-24 victory.

“When you tie it up in that second game, you can take a deep breath and feel like you’re starting all over,” Harrington said. “You’re not carrying any baggage with you.”

The Pats did just that, opening up a 10-5 lead in game three and never trailing from there. East tied the score five separate times, but Pilgrim eventually pulled away, turning an 18-16 lead into a 23-16 cushion thanks to a run of five straight, sparked by a Deveny Dionne kill and a Casey White block. After East made it 23-18, Pilgrim won the next two points.

In game four, Pilgrim rolled, going on two separate runs of seven points in a row to open up a 17-4 lead. Dionne and Conti delivered kills to get to match point and East couldn’t return Dionne’s final serve, giving Pilgrim the 25-10 win.

Conti led the Pats with 12 kills, while St. Jacques had seven kills and six blocks. Alvarez ran the offense well from her setter position.

Pilgrim has four matches left in the regular season, a stretch that begins tonight with a 6 p.m. match against West Warwick.

“We realize there are only about three weeks left,” Harrington said. “We want to make the most of it and see how far we can go.”

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