The friendships they’ve made, and the way they’re treated by everyone in the school, is just amazing.”

Cindy Garant, assistant coach, PHS unified volleyball team

PORTSMOUTH — Despite some long rallies and hard-fought points, the Portsmouth High School unified volleyball team fell short of its goal to win the Division I state championship on Sunday.

The Patriots lost to Bishop Hendricken, two games to none, in front of a raucous crowd at the Johnson and Wales University’s Harborside Campus.

Both games were tight, however, and the team gave everything it had, said assistant coach Cindy Garant.

“I think they absolutely played their hearts out,” an emotional Ms. Garant said immediately following the game. “I’m just so proud of them. They are the best kids in the school and I’m just really happy I got to work with them. This is my last year, as I’m retiring.

"These kids are the best. The friendships they’ve made, and the way they’re treated by everyone in the school, is just amazing.”

Unified sports is a partnership between the R.I. Interscholastic League and R.I. Special Olympics in which players with and without intellectual disabilities team up to compete in various sports. 

Besides the students on the teams who don’t have a disability (called “partners”), unified teams also have “practice players” who don’t appear on the roster but are invaluable to the program’s success, Ms. Garant said.

“They come to every practice, they come to every game. They may not be playing, but they’re a vital part of the team,” she said.

Henry Banks, a senior athlete on the team, was all smiles after the game, despite the loss.

“We did pretty good. We played with our hearts,” said Henry, who presented head coach Donna Ricci with flowers after the game.

Henry, who will be graduating in the spring, said he’ll miss his teammates very much.

“I love all of them,” he said.