Bulldogs spoil Pats’ Senior Night

By Ryan D. Murray
Posted 11/1/16

The Pilgrim Patriots fell to the Westerly Bulldogs, 3-1, Wednesday night at home on senior night. Playing in their final season are Ana Alvarez, Rhianna Bellows and Alexis Bier. Pilgrim has the better record of the two

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Bulldogs spoil Pats’ Senior Night

Posted

By RYAN D. MURRAY

For the Beacon The Pilgrim Patriots fell to the Westerly Bulldogs, 3-1, Wednesday night at home on senior night. Playing in their final season are Ana Alvarez, Rhianna Bellows and Alexis Bier.

Pilgrim has the better record of the two teams, but Pilgrim head coach Kelly Harrington believes both teams possess a ton of talent.

“I think Westerly is a strong, athletic team and unfortunately we made some errors,” Harrington said. “We gave our best effort, I don’t think either one of our records really shows how well our teams play. So, it was a tough battle. I feel like it could have gone either way.”

Sophomore Jordan Tiberi finished the day with 10 kills, while junior Ashley Ferreira had eight.

On serve, Westerly’s Cassidy Northup struck first, giving Westerly an early 1-0 lead in set one. Pilgrim evened it at 1 when junior Julia Conti scored. After back-to-back points from Westerly, Pilgrim tied it at 3 when Tiberi scored on a return and followed it with an ace. However, Tiberi’s next serve went out of play and Westerly took a 6-3 lead after sophomore Alexandra Mitchell slammed one down in front. Pilgrim cut it to one when Bellows set up Isabel Allaire for a kill, and Alvarez followed it with a return.

Westerly then scored four straight, going up 10-5, capped by a point from senior Gia Tenuta and an ace from sophomore Danielle Bernat. Moments later, Pilgrim’s Alvarez delivered an ace to cut the lead to 10-8.

Shortly after, Westerly’s McCormick put her team up 15-11. Next, Westerly’s Anna Cozzolino hit a rocket past Allaire, and on serve, Albamonti scored, giving Westerly a 17-11 lead. Pilgrim tried to rally. First, Tiberi scored on serve and Allaire followed it with a spectacular spike past Mitchell, pulling the Patriots within 18-14.

Nevertheless, back-to-back aces from Tenuta gave Westerly a lead of 24-17. Pilgrim’s Tiberi scored for the Pats, followed by a return error on Westerly’s Northup, and Pilgrim was within 24-19. But, that’s as close as they would come. A foul against Pilgrim on the next play gave Westerly a 25-19 win of the set. The victory gave Westerly a 1-0 lead in the match.

On serve, Westerly’s Albamonti helped her squad to a 4-2 edge in the second set. A point from Pilgrim’s Bellows pulled the Patriots within one, and on serve, Allaire tied it. 

Pilgrim evened it at 10 later in the set, when Allaire returned Tenuta’s serve with a thunderous blast. Pilgrim kept rolling. An ace from Tiberi and multiple points from Allaire and Ferreira helped the Patriots jumped out to a 17-11 lead. Then, Allaire blocked Albamonti and a roar could be heard throughout the Pilgrim gym. After a timeout, Westerly regrouped and got a point from junior Jayna Baldini, cutting it to 18-12. Bier hit an ace shortly after, though, and Pilgrim had game point at 24-15. In convincing fashion, on serve, Bier earned the Patriots a 25-15 win of the second set, making it a 1-1 tie in the match.

In the third set, on serve, Northup put Westerly on the board first. Next, McCormick set up Albamonti for the kill and put Westerly up 2-0. Pilgrim got on the board when Bellows assisted to Allaire for a monstrous spike. Westerly scored three straight, capped by an ace from Albamonti, giving Westerly a 5-1 edge. Pilgrim cut it to 6-3 on a double block from Allaire and Olivia King.

On serve, Ferreira scored four straight points, pulling Pilgrim within 10-9. The Patriots tied it at 12 when Allaire blocked Albamonti. Pilgrim then went up 14-12 when Allaire put one past Albamonti. Moments later, Allaire blocked Mitchell, putting Pilgrim up by one. Ferreira extended the lead when she hit it past Albamonti. Then, on serve, Allaire scored twice, giving Pilgrim an 18-14 lead. However, Westerly stormed back with Mitchell delivering two aces, tying it at 18.

Westerly went up, 22-19, before Pilgrim’s Marilyn McKay stopped the bleeding when she scored a point in front. Moments later, Bellows assisted to Tiberi at the strong side and she put it past a diving Mitchell, pulling the Patriots within 23-21. Next, Westerly’s Albamonti put one past Allaire to make it 24-21. On game point, Allaire came up with a big block on Mitchell, pulling the Patriots within 24-22. Next, on serve, Pilgrim’s Tiberi scored, pulling the Patriots within one. However, on the next play, Bellows assisted to Ferreira, who misfired at the net and Westerly snuck out of the third set with a 25-23 win and took a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Patriots jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third set. McCormick scored for Westerly to end the drought. However, Pilgrim got hot again and increased its lead to 6-1 on scores from Tiberi and Allaire. Then, Westerly’s Albamonti earned a kill to stop the bleeding. Pilgrim extended its lead to 11-5 when Tiberi made a dazzling diving play to score a point. Soon after, Westerly’s Tenuta returned Conti’s serve with a blast to cut it 12-7. Next, Westerly inched closer when Mitchell hit an ace, pulling it within four. A point from Tenuta on serve and a spike from McCormick put Westerly within two at 13-11.  

Northup scored an ace and Westerly tied it at 14. Westerly went on a streak, scoring three straight points, capped by an ace from McCormick, going up 19-16. Pilgrim cut it to two when Bier set up McKay for a kill. Moments after a serving error on Pilgrim’s Silvio, Conti laid down a spike to pull the Patriots within 20-18. Conti put one past Northup and Bernat, pulling Pilgrim within one. Then, Westerly’s Mitchell blocked Tiberi and increased the Westerly lead to 21-19. After a point from Tiberi pulled Pilgrim within two, a return error on Tiberi made it 23-20. A kill by Albamonti put Westerly up 24-20. Moments later, Albamonti laid down a spike in dramatic fashion to earn Westerly a 25-22 win in the set and a 3-1 win of the match.

“We just made some unforced errors and unfortunately we didn’t come up with the win, but our overall effort was great,” Harrington said. “As a team, there was really nothing that I could point out that led to the outcome.”

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