Girls Volleyball: Falcons Rally and Defeat Classical

Classical and Cranston West battled on Tuesday night in a girls volleyball match at Cranston West High School. The Purple won the first two games and looked in good shape to pick up the road victory. West charged back, winning three consecutive games to take the match.

Classical dominated the first game from start to finish. After the game was tied at 3, they went on a 7-1 run and never looked back. The Falcons cut their deficit to 15-9, but a 10-3 run by the Purple gave them a 25-12 win in the first game.

"The kids were a little nervous," Falcons coach Tom Ferri said, "We haven’t practiced for three days."

The Falcons picked up their play and made less unforced errors in the second game. They trailed 13-7, but a 5-1 run brought them to within 14-12. The teams battled back and forth the rest of the game, with Classical taking a late 22-20 lead. They scored three consecutive points to win it 25-20.

Cranston West stormed out to an 8-1 lead in the third game, looking to start a comeback. Classical battled back, and after their 10-3 run, the game was tied at 11. The biggest lead for the remainder of the game was only four points, as the Falcons went on to win it 25-21.

West led by double digits throughout the majority of the fourth game. Classical scored two points in a row, trimming a 6-1 deficit, to 6-3. However, the Falcons scored 13 out of the next 16 points, to take a commanding 19-6 lead. They went on to win the game 25-13, forcing a decisive fifth game.

The Purple never led in the fifth game, and it led to them wasting a grand opportunity to win on the road. A 6-1 run by the Falcons gave them a 10-4 lead. Nicole Matarese's ace ended the match, giving West a 15-10 fifth game victory, completing the comeback.

Emma Wallace led Classical with three aces and Odina Ellis had 10 kills and 3 blocks. Ailis Hanley led West with 4 blocks and Carlotta Trapassi had 7 digs.

"The played better as the match went on," Ferri added.