Girls Volleyball: LaSalle Sweeps the Thunderbolts

The lady 'Bolts traveled to LaSalle on Monday to face off against the Rams in a Division I girls volleyball matchup. Consistent setting from Elizabeth Byrnes and dominance in the middle by Catherine Maloney and Amanda Schofield propelled the Rams to a decisive three-game sweep.

LaSalle opened up an early lead in game one, as the Rams put together a six-point run to gain an eight point advantage at 10-2. Captain Meghan Lavey mixed four aces into the run, and Alexandra Elliot was hitting well from the outside with three kills early. 

Amanda Schofield stretched the lead to ten with a block in the middle, and despite some big hitting from Cranston East Captain Gianna Delgado, the Thunderbolts couldn't mount a comeback and fell 25-13 in game one.

LaSalle continued to dominate play at the net in game two and led by as many as twelve. The Rams captured game two 25-15, behind the hitting of Kennedy Rachiele and Amanda Schofield.

Game three was much tighter, but a pair of four-point runs by LaSalle would prove to be the difference as the Rams took game three 25-16, securing the match victory.

Cranston East didn't seem very focused in games one and two, but with some lineup changes in the second game, the Thunderbolts brought much more effort to the table in game three. 

"We started off flat and we couldn't get things together. I tried to do some substituting to try to energize them. And we played better in the third game. And we had a little more energy, but it's always tough when you are two games down," Cranston East Coach Ronald Lee said after the game.

Impeccable setting from Elizabeth Byrnes and strong hitting from the middle were keys in the victory for LaSalle.

"They were very dominant. We feed the middle as much as we can and they do really with it. They can see the other team's defense and try to hit the open spots. And they did great job with that tonight," LaSalle Coach Jadine Ferri said, commenting on her team's middle hitting.

LaSalle is now fourth in the division at 7-3 in league play and has gotten to the quarterfinals in both exhibition invitational tournaments. The Rams face two teams above them in the standings, in Ponaganset and Mount St. Charles, but look like a lock for the playoffs at this point in the season.

Cranston East is now 1-10 on the season, but with a young team, Coach Ronald Lee is happy with the improved play of his team in the second half.

Despite the rough season, the Thunderbolts are excited to renew the intercity rivalry on Monday, as they will face off against Cranston West seeking to avenge their loss to the Falcons earlier in the season.