Falcons complete undefeated campaign

By Brenton Bauerle
Posted 5/25/16

To go undefeated is the pinnacle of accomplishment in any sport - the mountaintop that few can summit. Going an entire season without a loss is certainly impressive, but what the Cranston West boys' volleyball team has

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Falcons complete undefeated campaign

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To go undefeated is the pinnacle of accomplishment in any sport – the mountaintop that few can summit.

Going an entire season without a loss is certainly impressive, but what the Cranston West boys’ volleyball team has done so far this year is nearly unbelievable; after a tense three-game sweep of rival Cranston East, the Falcons have yet to lose even one set the entire season.

While West came in as the clear No. 1 team (14-0) in Division II, East had plenty of reasons to feel it could compete. Riding a scrappy defense and the thunderous hitting of star outside hitter Isaiah Monteiro, East entered the contest at 11-2 and looking to spoil the Falcons’ senior night celebrations.

The opening frame of the match began sloppily, as both teams registered multiple errors in front of a raucous gym packed with fans from both teams. Four early missed serves by Cranston East buoyed the struggling Falcons, allowing them to keep it close until a string of kills by Monteiro left West down 15-10.

East’s lead ballooned to 17-13, but a furious rally led by West’s middle hitter Brett Bucci allowed the Falcons to tie the game at 20.

From there, West led the rest of the way, but was still unable to put away the ’Bolts with any authority, winning by only two points, 25-23.

“We were a little tight to start the game, but we know our capabilities,” said Cranston West head coach Roger Tow. “It was all about getting our timing back and getting the butterflies out, and once we felt comfortable we just played our game.”

Game 2 had a similar start, but a renewed focus at the service line by the ’Bolts left West without the gift points that had aided it early in Game 1. East opened on a 6-1 run, using tough serves to force West to set its outside hitters, resulting in a number of errors and balls the East defense could play much more cleanly.

West would not be kept down for long, however. Another lightning run with Monteiro removed from the front row equation allowed West to tie the score at 12, and the two teams traded spectacular rallies en route to a 20-20 tie.

From there, what followed was nothing short of a classic. West proceeded to fight off a potential game point at 24-23, and fought through five ties in the final six points to wrest the set out of East’s hands with a 28-26 victory to maintain its perfect streak.

“Cranston West is such a resilient team,” said Cranston East head coach Tom Paquette. “We had a few more errors than they did, and those can go either way.”

By the time Game 3 started, careless errors left the ’Bolts in a deep hole. The game began to seriously slip away when Monteiro finally started to look human, hitting a few balls out of bounds and being blocked straight into the floor. East continued to fight to the bitter end, but Game 3 was a much less dramatic 25-17 win, which left West victorious – and still undefeated.

While the Falcons came out on top, the competitive nature of the match bodes well for East, now 11-3, as the playoffs quickly approach.

So while Cranston West may very well finish out the season undefeated in every sense of the word, the playoffs are a different animal.

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