St. Raphael Academy sophomore middle hitter Ian Bing, left, and sophomore outside hitter Akhil Thomas team up to block a spike by Tolman/Shea senior Josh Hilaire during last Thursday night’s Division III showdown at the Saints’ Alumni Hall. Tolman/Shea won the match, 3-1, to raise its record to 5-2.
St. Raphael Academy sophomore middle hitter Ian Bing, center, blasts one of his 13 kills over the reach of Tolman/Shea junior Ricardo Timas, right, and senior Helmer Ramos during last Thursday night’s Division III showdown at the Saints’ Alumni Hall.
St. Raphael Academy sophomore middle hitter Ian Bing, left, and sophomore outside hitter Akhil Thomas team up to block a spike by Tolman/Shea senior Josh Hilaire during last Thursday night’s Division III showdown at the Saints’ Alumni Hall. Tolman/Shea won the match, 3-1, to raise its record to 5-2.
St. Raphael Academy sophomore middle hitter Ian Bing, center, blasts one of his 13 kills over the reach of Tolman/Shea junior Ricardo Timas, right, and senior Helmer Ramos during last Thursday night’s Division III showdown at the Saints’ Alumni Hall.
St. Raphael Academy senior libero Brady Magras sets the ball during last Thursday night's match against the Tolman/Shea co-op team. The Saints fell, 3-1, for their first Division III loss.
PAWTUCKET – The Tolman/Shea co-op boys’ volleyball squad picked up arguably its biggest victory in its three seasons as a co-op program last Thursday night by handing crosstown rival St. Raphael Academy its first loss of the Division III season at the Saints’ Alumni Hall.
The match started off one way with St. Raphael Academy dominating it, but the script quickly flipped, as the Tolman/Shea co-op team took over the rest of the way and netted a 3-1 victory that raised its record to 5-2.
The Saints, who had won their first five matches, took the first set, 25-20, but at one point, they had a 21-13 lead. The Pawtucket co-op team then won the final three sets by scores of 25-22, 25-15, and 27-25.
“We tried to switch up a couple of guys,” Tolman/Shea head coach Steven Bevilacqua said. “The energy was lacking from our normal guys, so we took some guys off the bench and they really helped us pick it up.”
“I thought we controlled the (first, second, and fourth sets) for the majority,” SRA head coach Cory Linhares said. “We were up by a lot in those sets. The first one, we were able to put them away early, but the second set, not so much, and the fourth, the same thing. In crunch time, I think we were up 24-18 or 24-19 and we just couldn’t put it away.”
The Saints were missing their powerful middle hitter from their lineup, senior Moses Meus, “and it obviously would have helped to have a go-to hitter,” Linhares added, “but the guys that had to step up didn’t.”
The second set was a back-and-forth battle at the start, but the momentum of the game completely flip-flopped in the middle of it. The Saints were up, 22-12, but came unglued, as the Pawtucket co-op squad, behind the strong serving of senior Helder Ramos, amazingly went on a 13-0 run to pull out its three-point win.
The second set “didn’t start out pretty,” Bevilacqua said, “so for our team to be able to come back and do that tells us as coaches that they know that they are never down and out of it.”
The fourth set almost mirrored the second, as the Saints grabbed a 24-19 lead and were on the verge of forcing a fifth and deciding set. But the Tolman/Shea team dramatically scored the next six points to claim the lead, and after the Saints tied the score, the visitors came back with the next two to clinch the match.
“I think in spots that mattered, we just couldn’t score,” Linhares added. “When it was time to close today, we couldn’t. But no team is going to be perfect. You’re going to make mistakes, and losses are going to happen, so I’m not overly upset about it. We just didn’t do what we had to do to win.”
Playing well for Tolman/Shea was senior Dembo Konte, who “had seven kills and some key serves at the end (of the third set),” Bevilacqua noted. “He served the last eight and had three digs to go along with it. Our setter, (senior) Dominic Carpentieri, was very good with 19 assists, and we had a guy come in, (senior) Josh (Hilaire), and get a couple of kills and some key serves and digs. He was a big help in our success.”
“It was a full team effort, but those guys really took it home for us,” Bevilacqua added.
The Saints were led by sophomore middle hitter Ian Bing’s 13 kills and four blocks, senior outside hitter Ethan McCann-Carter’s 10 kills, and senior setter Jonah Venditto’s 27 assists.
While the Tigers were coming off a 3-0 loss to undefeated Johnston, which has yet to lose a set this year, the Saints had defeated Mount Pleasant and first-year North Providence earlier last week by 3-0 scores. In the win over Mount Pleasant, Bing again led the way at the net with 11 kills and three blocks, Venditto handed out 17 assists, and senior libero Brady Magras added 14 digs.
“The core guys of Jonah, Brady, and Moses have been my staple for the last three seasons,” Linhares noted. “They are seasoned. (Junior) Geronimo Idarraga has been a big part as well, and Ian has stepped up and played very well.”
Linhares also said that he did not expect to go undefeated and knew losses were going to happen, but he believes that it’s what his team takes away from its losses that will help it be successful the rest of the way.
As for Tolman/Shea, “I think beating a good team like St. Ray’s will help us moving forward,” Bevilacqua said. “Our next couple of matches are tough in Woonsocket and Central Falls, which are both playoff teams.”
Tolman/Shea will host Woonsocket, which is 5-1, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., and Central Falls, which is 4-1, next Monday at the same time at Tolman’s gym. The Saints, who were scheduled to visit first-year Portsmouth on Tuesday night, will visit Exeter/West Greenwich on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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