Girl's Volleyball: Mountie Streak Continues With 3-0 Win Over Lincoln

Mount St. Charles girls volleyball continued their streak yesterday, taking down Lincoln to secure their eighth win of the season with a convincing 3-0 victory.

Game one started out tough for MSC. Unforced errors and defensive mistakes were met with solid playing by Lincoln.

With MSC clinging to a one point lead at 12-11, setter Carissa Gould started to lean on Senior outside hitter Kelsey Lace. Lace, one of the Mounties most consistent power hitters, delivered and had five kills down the stretch. Meaghan Walsh finished game one with a spike and took the first match, 25-16.

"I think the first game we were a little surprised. So I think Carissa got her involved a little bit to get us out of that first game," said MSC Head Coach Josh D'Abate. "It certainly helps to have her on the floor."

Gould started game two off with a couple of aces, and MSC jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Lincoln struggled on defense for the entire second game, unable to control the serves and hits from the Mounties. Danielle Lippacher had a 5-point run on her serve, and Lace added five aces, as the Mounties cruised to a 25-9 game two victory.

MSC jumped out to an 11-point lead early in game three and never looked back. The Mounties got solid contributions from juniors Walsh and Kelsey Gainor, who both had five kills in the game. Lace closed the match out with an ace, propelling the Mounties to a 25-11 game three victory.

Lace finished with 14 kills and 9 aces for the Mounties, but that is something that Coach Josh D'Abate expects from his senior go-to hitter. D'Abate knows that if his team wants to vie for the State Championship then it will need contributions from the whole roster, which is why he was so pleased with the play of his juniors in the third game.

"Finally. We've been preaching to them that it's time to just let it go and go play. And they started to get that going tonight. They [Meaghan Walsh and Kelsey Gainor] had some really good swings in the third game. And they did a nice job putting it all together tonight," D'Abate explained.

The setter is always the unsung hero, but Carissa Gould's 26 assist performance did not go unnoticed by the coach.

"Carissa does a fantastic job, and she gets all the hitters involved. In my opinion she is one of the best setters in the state if not the best. And she did a nice job moving the ball around tonight," D'Abate said.

While D'Abate has his eye on the championship, he's taking the season game by game.

"It's just one win and the goal is to be there at the end of the season. We have a big game coming up against East Providence on Thursday. So that's a good measuring stick for us to see where we are compared to one of the best teams in the state," he said.

The Mounties sit at the top of Division I at 8-0, and will travel to East Providence on Thursday in a showdown of two of the the state's best teams.