Scituate fends off Mt. Hope in the five-game distance
SCITUATE — The Mt. Hope High School girls’ volleyball team nearly pulled off what would have been the upset of the first round and likely the biggest shocker of the event entirely, but the Huskies came up shy as host Scituate fended off the locals, 3-2, in the Division Two playoff opener for both sides Tuesday night, Nov. 3.
The Spartans, seeded third out of Two-North after a 12-4 regular season, needed the distance to dispatch Mt. Hope, 6-12 and the sixth seed out of Two-South, by the scores of 23-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-9 and 15-0.
“I thought the girls played outstanding. It was a great way to end the season. You never want to lose to end the season, but the second half, the last six matches or so, we really got into a groove,” said Mt. Hope head coach Warren Rensehausen. “For us to go five tonight is a heckuva feat. To play this well, I’m happy. I’m proud of them.”
The Game Five score certainly didn’t due the match or the Huskies’ performance justice. Mt. Hope entered the night at a decided disadvantage height-wise. The Spartans featured a pair of 6-footers in Katie Corsi and Kate Lonardo, while the Huskies’ tallest players were Nicole Deletka and Abigail Pattie, roughly 5’10” and 5’9,” respectively.
That superior size at the net was most evident in Scituate’s second and fourth-game wins. Corsi was, in a word, immense for the Spartans in Game Two. The senior middle hitter found the range after a slow start, putting five of her night-high 16 kills down in the second set as Scituate built what was a commanding 23-9 lead. Only the late service of Deletka and Tori Deschenes prevented the contest from being a runaway route. The Spartans had started the contest on an 8-0 run on the service of Emma Lepore.
Lepore also lifted Scituate to a quick 5-0 lead in Game Four. Similarly to the second, the Spartans were never threatened after that, eventually building a commanding 13-3 edge before stretching out the margin to the final total of 16.
Lepore’s service, in fact, was the other key factor in Scituate’s favor. The Huskies simply couldn’t master her low, flat offering all night, but especially in the last game. Lepore toed the line throughout the entire rare shut-out, ripping four of her 13 aces in the final set to help her team avoid the upset.
The Huskies also served well, though no one approached the proficiency of Lepore. Deschenes and Olivia DaCosta had the most success on the line for the locals. DaCosta was serving in the final stages of the opening game win for Mt. Hope. Her ace at 23-all gave the Huskies the lead before Emma Leary finished off the victory with a kill on game point.
DaCosta was again serving in Game Three as Mt Hope broke open what was a close contest. With the score knotted at 10, Abigail Pattie put down a kill to give the locals what proved the lead for good. DaCosta had two more aces in the Huskies’ 11-0 run, which gave Mt Hope a 19-10 advantage. Jess Dasscuncao helped the locals close out the win with an ace and a kill on game point.
In other D-Two playoff action Tuesday involving locals, Barrington defeated North Smithfield, 3-1, to advance to a quarterfinal round meeting in Tiverton against the unbeaten Tigers Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6:30 p.m. Bay View fell out of the playoffs, losing in five games to Tolman.
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