Tiverton High Volleyball Takes Little Time to Sweep Rogers 3-0 [VIDEO]

Back in home with plenty of time to finish school work.

The girls’ volleyball team needed just one hour Tuesday night to pin a 3-0 defeat on Rogers High School of Newport in a Division II-South match played in Tiverton.

Powered by the dominant net play of Kirstie Devine and Jessica Drolet, the Tigers easily disposed of the Vikings in the first two games by scores of 25-11 and 25-13 before squandering a big lead in the final contest and rallying for a 25-23 victory. Tiverton is now 6-4 this season, while Rogers drops to 2-8.

The Tigers simply boasted too much firepower and a higher skill level than the game Vikings, who lacked a powerful front-line attack and were guilty of numerous hitting and serving errors. Tiverton breezed through the first two games in less than 35 minutes and built a 10-point bulge in the finale before Rogers charged back and eventually took a short-lived lead.

“The girls got lazy in the third game and weren’t getting low for the ball, but overall, I thought we played well,” said Tiger Coach Kerri Russo. “We had some girls come off the bench tonight – Emily Russo, Samantha Sando and Jackie Helger -- and they were effective, which made me happy.”

With no player from Rogers capable of matching their size, Devine and Drolet had things their way at the net with 9 kills apiece, while setters Abby Johanning (7) and Ashley Destremps (5) combined for 12 assists. At the service line, Tiverton’s Emily Costa (3) and Russo (2) collaborated for 5 aces.

Morgan Brown topped the Vikings with 5 kills and Mikaela Margolis totaled 3 kills.

“I’m very impressed with the way we played in the third game and made a nice comeback,” said Rogers Coach Charlotte Conners. “We worked out the kinks in the first two games and played well together in the third game, but we still need to communicate better.”

Tiverton trailed just once – at 1-0 – in the opening game as April Benton served nine straight points and Jackie Carmichael accumulated 4 kills. After building a 19-3 advantage, the Tigers ran out the string for an easy win.

In the second contest, Tiverton erased an early 2-0 deficit with a six-point burst as Victoria Martin served six unanswered points, Drolet tallied five consecutive points to complement five kills, and Devine nailed the final three points from the service line.

The Tigers wiped out an early 2-1 disadvantage in the final tilt to take an 11-2 cushion after Costa racked up 10 straight points. Tiverton’s lead peaked at 15-5 until the Vikings awoke with a vengeance, producing a 15-4 spurt to take a 20-19 lead.

During Rogers’ comeback, Toula Mellekas notched back-to-back kills, Brown contributed two kills and Toula Mellekas and Missy Mellekas both served aces.

The Tigers recovered, however, as Costa claimed a kill and three straight points to open up a 24-20 bulge. The Vikings battled back again with a three-point string before an errant return sailed out-of-bounds on the final point of the night.

Coach Russo said she is pleased with Tiverton’s progress to this point of the season.

“The girls have been working very hard in practice and we’re beginning to jell more as a team,” she said. “Today was tough, but I think we’re getting better.”

Both teams will resume their Division II-South schedules on the road Thursday. Tiverton will visit Our Lady of Fatima High School of Warren, while Rogers will travel to Middletown High School.

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