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MSC tops Tolman again, heads to Div. II semis |
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Friday, 06 November 2009 |
By ERIC BENEVIDES
Sports writer
WOONSOCKET --- For their seventh time in the last three seasons, Mount St. Charles Academy came away with a 3-0 triumph at Tolman High’s expense on Thursday night, but unlike most of those victories, the Mounties had to work a little harder to claim their Division II quarterfinal-round meeting.
Senior outside hitter Liz Frigon belted eight kills and junior middle hitter Maria Saia and sophomore middle hitter Kelsey Lace also had solid nights at the net for the Division II-North co-champion Mounties, who earned a return trip to the semifinals by posting a 25-15, 25-23, 25-19 victory.
“I liked the way we played,” added MSC coach Josh D’Abate, whose Mounties are now 16-1 and enjoying their finest season since 2001 when they went 17-2 and were runner-ups in the Class A playoffs. “We got the first one out of the way and now we’re kind of in that playoff atmosphere, so we’ll see what happens.”
Awaiting the Mounties is next Monday night’s test against Exeter/West Greenwich High (15-2) in the opening game of a semifinal-round doubleheader at URI’s Keaney Gym.
The Scarlet Knights, who topped Scituate High in their quarterfinal-round match, and the Mounties will play at 6 p.m., while Division II-South champ Tiverton High and Division II-North co-champ Cranston East High will battle in the 8 p.m. nightcap.
“Exeter/West Greenwich is very good,” remarked D’Abate. “I know (EWG coach) Josh (Bednarczyk) down there and he does a great job with his girls. His JV team just won the state championship. It’s going to be a good match.”
Thursday night’s clash with the Tigers was also a good match, and the second game was a true barnburner. Both teams swapped the lead back and forth, and only once did either side lead by more than two points – MSC took a 3-0 lead before Tolman came back with the next two points.
The biggest run in that match was a four-point surge by the Mounties that erased a 20-18 deficit and gave them a 22-20 lead, and it took a kill from Frigon to give the hosts their game-winning point and finally end the suspense.
“We kind of walked on the court and said, ‘OK, this game is already over. We won pretty easily the first game. We got this match and we’re going to URI,’ ” added D’Abate. “But Tolman’s not here because they’re a bad team. They’ve very solid and they did a lot of nice things. I was a little disappointed with the way we played that game, but I’m happy with the way we responded in the third game.”
There wasn’t much drama in the first game, as the Mounties rolled off six straight points to cop an 11-3 lead that soon increased to 15-5. The third game was a thriller through the early going, but with the score tied at 9-9, MSC ran off five straight points and followed that with six in a row to take a 20-10 lead and allow D’Abate to clear his bench.
“We knew that Mount St. Charles had a lot of weapons,” added Tolman first-year coach Roger Tow, who inherited a two-win season from a season ago and saw it finish the year with an 8-10 mark, their best record since 2005. “They not also have a good offense, but they have tough serving and play well in the back row. It just made it difficult for us.”
Lace, a 6-footer, ended her night with six kills and five aces, while Saia also had six kills to go with three blocks. Tessa Jacobs had a superb all-around match with five kills, five aces, and six digs, Elizabeth Alexander handed out 13 assists, and Lauren Palazzini had eight aces, including four straight in Game 3 to put that game out of reach.
Senior libero Maria Montoya (14 digs) and junior middle hitter Jenna Ayala (seven kills, three aces) were the top players for the Tigers, who overcame a seven-game losing streak, won five of their last seven matches to qualify for the playoffs, and on Tuesday, survived a 3-2 clash on the road with Bay View Academy in their preliminary-round battle. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 22 November 2009 )
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