Names change, but EPHS girls’ volleyball team goals stay constant

Though inexperienced, Townies aim to compete among Division I elite

By Mat Galvao
Posted 9/14/18

By Mathew Galvao

Sports Stringer

The East Providence High School girls’ volleyball team have kicked off yet another season with big expectations earlier this week a year after taking North …

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Names change, but EPHS girls’ volleyball team goals stay constant

Though inexperienced, Townies aim to compete among Division I elite

Posted

By Mathew Galvao

Sports Stringer

The East Providence High School girls’ volleyball team have kicked off yet another season with big expectations earlier this week a year after taking North Kingstown to five sets in a Division I state tournament quarterfinal loss to the Skippers.

“The program is built on competition everyday in practice. It’s built on the fundamentals of the game and I think our teams traditionally get better as the season goes on,” said East Providence head coach Alex Butler. “That was an awesome game that we played. North Kingstown was the better team, and they won it. It’s a process to get there.”

The Townies got off to a slow start in their regular season opener against Division I rival Cranston East ,dropping three straight sets to the Thunderbolts (25-20, 25-13, 25-21). The match proved to be a real learning experience for an East Providence team that lacks a lot of varsity game action.

“There were a lot of good things that we did out on the floor, but this is an entirely new team. We have one player who comes back with any varsity game experience. It’s gonna take a little time just for the team just to be comfortable on the floor and then being able to execute,” Butler said. “The girls are working really hard out there, Now it’s gotta translate from practice to the game and that’s the hardest part.”

The locals finished last season with a 10-8 record in the state’s top division before dropping the quarterfinal match to North Kingstown. The goal for this team, like every team, is to play in the final game of the season for a chance to win a championship no matter how the roster is constructed or who the opponents may be.

“Our expectations don’t change. Every year when we start the season we wanna be playing the last Saturday of the season,” Butler explained. “Our expectation is to continue to improve and strive to be there at the end. There are some good teams in the state...I don’t take it as a situation where we can’t beat A,B and C. We are gonna work everyday like we have for however many years to be playing on that last Saturday.”

The 2018 campaign may be one of the challenging yet as he will look to get this young core of players playing at the highest level possible. It’ll be a difficult task but one Butler is looking forward to working on.

“The process is tough, hard, and it’s a grind. It’s not just collectively as a group, but the individuals on separate levels,” said Butler. “I talked to the girls about the link and everybody had a link to the chain. Everybody has to be equal and pull their weight. It’s a long season and it’s a grind. I take nothing for granted. Nothing is a guarantee.”

With the inexperience that will be in the Townies lineup this season, senior Emma DaSilva will be relied upon to bring leadership on and off the floor to help bring the team together. DaSilva hasn’t shied away from the responsibilities given to her but in fact relishes in this role.

“She has the most experience. She started as a sophomore and has been through this before. She has to lead the team and help people become comfortable and back people up while being able to play her game,” Butler explained. “I haven’t really been able to coach Emma a lot because I’ve been so focused on getting everybody caught up. She wants to be the best player and be the most recognizable player on the floor.”

The continuity and the belief in each other is one aspect of this current squad that head coach Alex butler sees as an asset and a strength.

“Our teams in a lot of years haven’t had that continuity. We’ve had really good players who really kind of rubbed each other the wrong way sometimes and it’s a grind to fight through that sometimes,” said Butler. “This team is a little bit different because I think they’re going through that experience together.”

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.