Girls Volleyball: Townies Secure Road Victory Over Falcons

East Providence displayed sound fundamentals and consistent hitting on their way to a 3-0 sweep of the Cranston West Falcons Monday night..

The first game started off tight, with the lead seesawing on nearly every point. East Providence was hitting well, but was serving poorly and making defensive mistakes.

Cranston West was playing very scrappy, getting to a lot of balls and making some big digs on powerful spikes from the Townies. Although the Townies were dictating play for the most part, Cranston West was able to keep it tight in the early going due to their hustle, and only trailed by one at 9-8.

Townies Head Coach Alex Butler substituted Mary Monagle in and she provided an offensive spark for East Providence. Monagle got kills on back to back plays and East Providence went on a 5-point run, stretching their lead to 17-10 behind the serving of Alexandria Amaral. 

Kimberly Thomas was a solid contributor from her Middle Hitter position in game one, and added a late ace, as the Townies ran away with game one, 25-13.

Cranston West came out with more intensity to start the second game and secured an early 5-4 lead on a precision angle shot from Lauren English. The Falcons fell behind 7-5, but came back to take an 8-7 lead on an ace from Alexa Jillson and a block from Ailis Hanley.

East Providence then rallied and went on a 7-0 run, behind good serving from Kimberly Thomas. The Townies never looked back, as their hitting picked up, winning game two 25-15.

East Providence opened game three with a kill from Mary Monagle and two aces from Alyssa Dias, as the Townies opened up an early 5-0 lead. East Providence maintained their hitting consistency and the Falcons could not withstand the Townie attack, falling 25-15. Thomas finished off the wire-to-wire victory for the Townies with an ace, improving the Townies record to 6-1 on the season.

East Providence Coach Alex Butler commented on the play of his Middle Hitter Kimberly Thomas after the match.

"She's really starting to become more consistent, which as a senior, is what she needs to do. She's one of our go-to offensive players, and she's taken that responsibility and run with it. And that's good to see," Butler explained.

Cranston West Head Coach Thomas Ferri pointed to inconsistency as the issue for the Falcons, in all facets of the game. Ferri rotated four different setters in the game against East Providence, which is problematic being at the halfway point of the season. Inconsistent setting leads to issues with the timing of the hitters, which leads to inconsistent play and results across the board. 

The Falcons dropped to 3-4 on the season, but if they can become more consistent, they are still in the hunt for a playoff berth.