Boys Volleyball: Thunderbolts Complete Season Sweep of Oakers

Despite suffering a meltdown at the end of the first game, Cranston East managed to regroup and get an important win over Coventry on Tuesday night.

The Coventry Oakers (3-7) took the first game, but the Thunderbolts (3-8) rallied to win three straight and the match, an important one that may determine playoff position.

"This was an extremely big win for us because we are fighting for a playoff spot," Thunderbolts head coach Thomas Ferri said.

Coventry led in the beginning of the first game, 7-5. East scored seven consecutive points to take the lead. Later in the game, the Bolts led 21-18. The Oakers closed it out in fashion, with a 7-1 run, taking the first game 25-22.

Cranston East came out strong in the second game, leading 9-1 and 11-2.

"We didn’t really play like we wanted to win and gave them leads early in games," Coventry's coach Jonathan Bartlett said.

Coventry refused to die and rallied to cut the lead to 19-17. The Bolts would not lose their lead this time as a kill by senior Jonathan Hang ended the game with East winning it 25-19.

The third game was competitive throughout, with East leading for a majority of it. It was tied at 13 and 15, but a 10-4 run by the Bolts to close the game, gave them another 25-19 victory.

The Thunderbolts' effort and defense was the difference in the match. Throughout the fourth game, much like the third, the Bolts led, but Coventry once again rallied, tying the score at 18.

However, East ended the game strong, for the third game in a row, with a 7-3 run, winning it 25-21. The Bolts runs at the end of games two through four added up to 23-9, which gave them the match 3-1.

Billy Chen led the Bolts with 20 kills, 7 blocks and 12 digs. Chai Kue chipped in 23 assists and 4 digs.

Brandon Tordoff notched 4 aces, 11 kills, and 3 blocks for the Oakers. Kyle Carpenter added 3 aces, 6 digs, and 33 assists.

Ferri spoke about a specific tactic the team used. "We got a few points out of setting Billy [Chen] up from the back," he said, "Service errors hurt us in the first game."

Bartlett added, "We have to work on being consistent and passing the ball better."

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