Hawks roll past Falcons, 3-0

By Eric Rueb
Posted 4/20/17

The game itself was forgettable. There weren't long stretches of championship-caliber volleyball. The passing was an on-again, off-again affair. There were big hits, but plenty of big misses and more unforced errors than

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Hawks roll past Falcons, 3-0

Posted

The game itself was forgettable.

There weren't long stretches of championship-caliber volleyball. The passing was an on-again, off-again affair. There were big hits, but plenty of big misses and more unforced errors than either team would like to admit they made.

Tuesday's battle between Bishop Hendricken and Cranston West won't be looked back at as a season-defining moment, but it served its purpose for both teams as they try to figure out where they stand in Division I. The Hawks' offensive talent wasn't something the inexperienced Falcons weren't ready for as Hendricken left Cranston with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-17 win.

“We're still trying to find our rhythm as a team,” Hendricken coach Mike Harrington said. “We have good players in all positions, but we're still trying to find our consistency and just our overall rhythm and purpose every night.”

“Just to be able to compete with them boosts our morale and gives us a little edge,” Cranston West senior Brett Bucci said. “It might not have shown all the time in all the games, but we can compete with a team like Hendricken.”

Just trying to compete isn't something the Falcons (1-3 Division I) are accustomed to.

Coming off a Division II championship, five semifinal appearances in the last six seasons and an impressive 81-13 regular-season mark since 2011, the Falcons aren't scaring anyone quite the same way in Division I. Their roster is revamped, missing nine players from last year's title-winning squad, and the inexperience showed against Hendricken (2-2 D-I).

The Falcons’ mistakes were what you'd expect from younger teams and those mistakes came in bunches. For every step forward, they'd take two back and then another one just for good measure.

There were passing errors. There were missed blocking assignments. There were balls that dropped between defenders. Some points they looked like the D-II Falcons and on others they started playing like the last CW team to play in D-I – the 2007 team that went 0-18.

“We couldn't get them out of system, so they ran some plays and they created great matchups with a single block or no block. We're not used to that,” said Cranston West coach Roger Tow, whose team hosts Exeter-West Greenwich Thursday at 6:30 p.m. “We're used to being the ones that dictate the pace, so it was a learning experience.”

“We live and learn from a game like this,” Bucci said. “We'll come back to practice with our heads up and polish those spots that need improving.”

Hendricken was more than happy to show Cranston West where it needed improvement.

Pure talent carried the Hawks. There were stretches in Game 2 and Game 3 where their offense looked like it might be the best in the state as outside hitter Anthony Witherstone managed to not hit his head on the gymnasium ceiling as he blasted balls through the floor.

But as devastatingly violent as some of the hits by Witherstone (12 kills) and fellow outside Steven Costantino (six kills) were, those opportunities didn't happen as frequently as they should have. The serve receive was serviceable and there were a few free ball opportunities where passes missed setter Alex DiLucia.

What Hendricken really needed was a spark. Even as Witherstone and Costantino committed unspeakable acts of violence on their swings, there wasn't a lot of celebrating or anything that showed the Hawks had that killer instinct teams need.

In Game 1, Hendricken almost gave away a 22-17 lead. In Game 2, the Hawks led 23-19 before nearly handing it back to the Falcons. Game 3 saw Hendricken up 18-11, but the Falcons came charging back and got it to 18-16 before Witherstone decided enough was enough, finishing the game with two kills and two roof blocks to close the match out.

“In the game of volleyball you need to have a lot of energy because with energy comes confidence,” Witherstone said. “It takes a toll on the other team and it's really big for us too.”

“We have good kids and they care about each other and they're resourceful, but we need that fire,” said Harrington, whose team hosted La Salle Wednesday (results unavailable at press time) and returns to league play Monday at South Kingstown (6-1). “We need to get our team fired up every night.”

The Hawks should be a postseason team. It's barely been a month, but SK and Mount St. Charles have proven they're the teams to beat and the way Hendricken played Tuesday isn't going to get the job done come May.

“We're not putting too much weight on any one night,” Harrington said. “I think our team is in a good position to make the playoffs, so I want to make sure we're playing our best for when that happens.”

“The whole state as of now, we're flowing under the radar,” Witherstone said. “We definitely have some talent and we're going to try and show that by the end of the season.”

It's not a longshot to say Cranston West could join the Hawks in the postseason.

The Falcons' next four matches are against EWG (1-3), North Kingstown (0-6), MSC (5-0) and East Providence (1-4), who CW took down in five games on April 10.

If Cranston West continues to improve and rattles off two or three wins during that stretch – and plays solid in defeat to a team like, say, Mount St. Charles – it'll go a long way with the inexperienced squad.

“We're fighting and not giving up. We did that against East Providence,” Tow said. “ ... It's experience, they're learning and hopefully there's some take-aways. These guys, they don't like losing, so hopefully they'll get it.”

“If we can get five or six wins, and we have a ton of winnable games coming down the stretch,” Bucci said, “I think we can be a sleeper in the playoffs as more experience comes.”

Comments

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