Titans hold off ‘Bolts to win season opener

Brenton Bauerle
Posted 9/8/15

They say that you never get a second chance at a first impression. Well, for the Cranston East Thunderbolts girls’ volleyball team in their matchup with the Toll Gate Titans, the first impression …

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Titans hold off ‘Bolts to win season opener

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They say that you never get a second chance at a first impression. Well, for the Cranston East Thunderbolts girls’ volleyball team in their matchup with the Toll Gate Titans, the first impression may not have gone so well, but it was the lasting impression that counted in their tightly-contested, three-set loss.

The first game wasn’t exactly one for the books for Cranston East, as a myriad of errors – including five from behind the service line – submarined what was otherwise a solid game for the ‘Bolts. On the other side, Toll Gate played a near immaculate game, consistently keeping the ball in play and making crisp passes to set up what shaped up to be a potent offense. With East committing a case of self-sabotage, and Toll Gate taking advantage of its unforced errors, the ‘Bolts fell in the first game by a score of 25-18.

“This team just has great chemistry,” said Toll Gate head coach Pat Chin. “They have all played together since they were freshmen, and I coached them when they were [junior varsity], so they’ve been with me the whole entire time, and they just love playing together.”

The second game started much as the first one did, with Toll Gate looking like it was headed to another easy victory on the back of solid all-around play and unforced errors on the part of Cranston East. At one point, the ‘Bolts were down 21-13, and any rational observer would have called the game out of reach. However, the ‘Bolts buckled down the rest of the way, going on a furious rally that showcased a much cleaner, more energetic squad than the one that had played the first set and a half.

Cranston East ended up going on a furious run, including a cavalcade of beautiful defensive plays to save points that the ‘Bolts could not afford to lose. In a flash, the score had gone from insurmountable – 21-13 – to a tight, 23-19 affair. The momentum seemed squarely on the side of Cranston East at that point, but Toll Gate, a team that boasts a bevy of experienced players, was able to recover from Cranston East’s counterpunch and finish the game off, winning by a score of 25-21.

Continuing the upward trajectory of the competitiveness of the contest, the third game proved to be the most exciting of the three. Neither team had more than a three-point lead the entire way, and though Cranston East never led, the score was tied three times throughout the contest. Toll Gate, for the first time, looked flustered, as the team that it had been content to let beat itself had suddenly been replaced by a cohesive, boisterous crew that had no problem matching the Titans point for point.

In the end, Cranston East’s issues from earlier in the game did come back to haunt it. A few missed serves, and a few key late hitting errors, allowed Toll Gate to seize a late lead without having to really earn it, and from there the cover quickly closed on East, as it ended up losing the third game by a final score of 25-23 and, as a result, losing the match three games to none.

Though the game went down as a sweep in the scorebook, the competitiveness of the match clearly increased as play wore on. Cranston East head coach Meaghan McGonagle recognized that fact, and had plenty to say on why her team struggled to find consistency.

“I’ve got some new players and I’ve got some more experienced players, so the returners really tried to keep everything together,” said McGonagle. “When girls play together, or even just play the game more, they learn how to move around the court, but they aren’t quite there yet, so I told my returners that they need to cover up some of those miscues until those players get a better feel for the game.”

So while the game went down as a win for Toll Gate, and, by extension, a loss for Cranston East, this early in the season there is more to worry about than just the number in the win and loss columns. Though a team never likes to lose, a team with a mix of inexperienced players like the ‘Bolts has to value each match simply for the experience it provides, and a team like Toll Gate, with a cadre of returning players and an eye on a championship, must take these early lessons on overcoming adversity if it hopes to accomplish its ultimate goal. So, in a way, though, as always, there was a winner and a loser, in the long term, both teams might end up calling their first match a win.

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