Mount Volleyball Upset in Semifinals

KINGSTON – Capping off a disappointing day for Mount St. Charles sports, the undefeated girls’ volleyball team was upset 3-1 in the semifinals of the Division I playoffs by Ponaganset on Tuesday night.

The Chieftains used an incredible effort from setter Taylor Stevens and a raucous crowd to keep the Mounties rattled most of the night. Ponaganset took the first two games, 25-22 and 25-20, dropped the third 25-18, but won the fourth 25-21.

The Mounties were undone by their inability to pass well, as Ponaganset repeatedly dug out awkward and ineffective attacks.

Mount head coach Josh D’Abate said that while he thought his team was the best in Division I, the better team won on Tuesday.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” he said. “We didn’t do anything well enough to win.”

D’Abate viewed the loss as an example of a lack of execution on offense.

“It’s easy to play defense when you’re not playing good offense,” he said.

For most of the match, Mount struggled to get good chances for senior outside hitter Kelsey Lace. When Lace did hit, Stevens and others were there to dig the ball out.

“We got into their heads a little bit,” Ponaganset head coach Sue Stevens said. “We’re the only team that has challenged Mount this year [in the regular season].”

Ponaganset specifically targeted Lace throughout the night, with players frequently telling one another, “Hit it at Kelsey!” While the senior had a bit of trouble passing in the first and second games, she rebounded in the third and fourth.

D’Abate said it wasn’t a tactic that surprised him.

“You want to make the best player work as hard as possible,” he said. “You want to make her dive and dig.”

The Chieftains swapped the lead with the Mounties throughout the first set. Ponaganset went up 17-12 midway through the set, but Mount scored five straight to knot the score at 17-17.

Mount took leads at 20-18 and 22-19, thanks to kill from junior Carissa Gould and Lace, but a pair of errors and a Ponaganset kill tied the game at 22.

Ponaganset took control of the last three points though. Miranda Rayner had an ace, followed by a Mount error and a kill by Erica Blais to take the game.

The Chieftains led for all of the second game, but faltered in the third as the Mounties were finally able to effectively attack. A pair of Ponaganset errors gave Mount a 25-18 win in the third.

However, Ponaganset took control of the fourth and final game with several nifty plays. With a one-point lead at 16-15, the Chieftains turned aside two spikes from Lace and finally scored on a well-placed set by libero Noelle Mioza.

Ponaganset added to the lead with two Mount errors, and an ace by Stevens. Trailing 20-15, a pair of Ponaganset errors got Mount within three, but Stevens chose the perfect time to dump a set over the net for a quick point, giving Ponaganset a 21-17 lead they wouldn’t surrender.