Mount St. Charles Volleyball: Mounties Defeat Oakers, 3-0

Mount St. Charles bounced back from its first loss in nearly three years to defeat Coventry, 3-0, April 13 in Woonsocket.

The Mounties’ 49-match winning streak—including nine postseason victories—ended when they fell to South Kingstown Monday, but MSC improved to 3-1 by sweeping the Oakers Wednesday.

“May 7, 2008 was the last time we lost a game,” said Josh D'Abate, head coach of the Mounties, after Wednesday’s match. “We came out ready to play on Monday. It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but they responded well tonight.”

Senior Matt Boni led MSC with 15 kills, finding holes in the Oakers’ defense with help from junior Pat Kennedy. He doled out 38 assists, setting up the Mounties’ outside hitters in place of the ailing Ryan Durand.

“[Kennedy] came in and played beautifully,” D'Abate said. “[Kennedy] got our hitters involved in the game, mixed it up and kept Coventry off balance.”

Matt Koback added 14 kills for MSC, regularly adjusting his pace with off-speed deliveries to effectively amplify the Mounties’ high-powered offense. He, Boni and a host of MSC attackers took advantage of their superior size to hammer out a two-set lead, pushing Coventry to the brink of defeat.

The Oakers trailed, 24-17, in the third set before making one last push to avoid the loss. They rallied and reduced the Mounties’ lead to three, but Koback ended the match with an unreturnable ball that sailed gently over the net and, eventually, fell to the feet of the Oakers' feisty defenders.

“Coventry’s a scrappy team,” D'Abate said. “They’re young. I could see them getting better as the season goes on.”

The youthful Oakers slipped to 1-2 Wednesday, dropping the first set, 25-19, before falling to MSC in the second set, 25-22. They’ll return to Coventry in search of their second win Friday, when they host 2-3 LaSalle.

The Mounties will go for two in a row April 14, when 1-2 Cranston East visits the MSC gym. D'Abate hopes to have Durand available for the match Thursday.