Portsmouth unified volleyball team falls to Hawks in finals

D-I runners-up for second straight year

By Jim McGaw
Posted 10/31/17

PORTSMOUTH — For the second straight year, the Portsmouth High School unified volleyball team faced Bishop Hendricken in the Division-I state championship game at the Johnson and Wales …

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Portsmouth unified volleyball team falls to Hawks in finals

D-I runners-up for second straight year

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — For the second straight year, the Portsmouth High School unified volleyball team faced Bishop Hendricken in the Division-I state championship game at the Johnson and Wales University’s Wildcat Center on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the results were the same, with the Hawks beating the Patriots in both games. 

The Patriots have nothing to be ashamed about, however, as they came into the tournament as the No. 3 seeding, knocking off No. 2-seeded East Greenwich to make it to the championship.

The first match was a tight contest, with Portsmouth up 14-13 at one point. The defending champs pulled away, however, to take the game by a score of 25-17.

Game two wasn’t as close, with the Hawks taking an early lead and going up by as many as 12 points at one point. 

The Patriots took three straight points with Alex Costa serving, closing the gap to 19-11. After the Hawks battled back, Portsmouth went on another burst and scored three straight when it was Alex Ross’ turn to serve. Hendricken stopped any further damage, however, and won the second and deciding game, 25-17.

“Our team knows we could have played a little bit better than we did today,” Patriots head coach Donna Ricci said after the game. 

“There was a Homecoming dance last night, so they a lot of energy there. But they left their hearts on the court, though. They never quit, and this team never would. They have my heart,” she said.

When asked what she told her team during the post-game huddle, Ms. Ricci pointed to senior co-captain Kyle Boudreau, whose aggressive style of play drew cheers from the Portsmouth supporters. He does most of the talking, she said.

“Kyle does all the pep talks,” said Ms. Ricci.

“Very true,” responded Kyle, adding that despite the loss, he was proud of how his team performed.

“I’m a senior, so this is my last year,” he said, adding that he’ll miss unified sports and his teammates “very much” but will “definitely” come back and see the team play next year.

In 2015 while playing in Division II, the Patriots won their second state title in four years by defeating Cranston West.

Moving up to Division I the following year didn’t seem to slow Portsmouth up much. The team went undefeated in the regular season before falling to Bishop Hendricken in the 2016 state championship game.

In unified sports, students with and without intellectual disabilities play together on the same team. The players with intellectual disabilities are the athletes, while other members are their partners, or helpers/coaches.

The varsity sports program falls under the purview of the R.I. Interscholastic League (RIIL) in partnership with R.I. Special Olympics.

PHS unified volleyball, unified sports, Portsmouth High School

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