EAST PROVIDENCE — East Providence High School has set the pace in Division II girls' volleyball from start to finish this fall, the Townies completing an undefeated 2023 regular season Thursday, Oct. 26, on Senior Night with a 3-0 victory over Westerly.

East Providence defeated a feisty group of visiting Bulldogs 25-19, 25-18 and 25-21 as the locals ended their slate with a perfect 15-0 record. Playoff-bound Westerly saw its regular season end with a 10-5 mark. The Townies clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming league championship tournament earlier in the week with a 3-0 win on the road in North Smithfield.

"I thought it was a really good night. They're a playoff team. They've got great size. So I thought it was a good look for us for what we're going to see coming down the line," EPHS head coach Alex Butler said of the win over the Bulldogs. "I thought the girls responded well, especially on Senior Night. You never know what you're going to get. The emotions are kind of all over the place, but the kids went out and did what they needed to do."

The last East Providence team to go unbeaten also capped off its fall with a state championship. The 2005 edition of the Townies under legendary coach Luis Carvalho, for whom the volleyball court at EPHS is named, went 21-0 en route to the Division I title. That's the last championship of any kind for the program.

"I actually found some pictures from the championship in 2005 with Luis jumping around, so I showed the kids yesterday and they were like, wow, that's pretty crazy," Butler, who was Carvalho's assistant those 18 years ago, said of this year's feat.

He continued, "We're as good as what the record is. We can only go by what the schedule is. People like to say they're undefeated, but it's this and it's that. Go ask any other team in the league if they'd like to be where we are. The kids have earned this. They've worked hard every single day. But I just said to them, this is an awesome regular season accomplishment, but now we've got to get it done in the playoffs. And that's a different animal."

Seven EPHS seniors were honored prior to the Westerly match: Kate Bernhardt, Ella DeCosta, Malia Mullen, Teagan Abatiello, Nora Fineran, Charlotte Kane and Daniella Escudero.

Of their undefeated regular season, Bernhardt, a middle hitter, said, "It means we've shown how good we can be and that we deserve to be in this spot."

Added Escudero, the Townies' libero, "We've worked really hard for what we've got."

Each of the three games Thursday followed a similar pattern. The scores remained close before the Townies pulled away on their own volition or with some help from the Bulldogs.

EP broke a 15-all tie in the first set, scoring three points in a row. The Townies reached 20-16 on a Keira Mullen kill from the back row. As she would later in the match Jathai Sanchez added a kill from the front to make 22-18. DeCosta then helped close it out with ace for point 24 then had a pair of digs during a rally on game point before a Westerly hitting error ended it in East Providence's favor.

Game 2 was knotted all the way to 17-apiece when the Townies took the lead on a Maila Mullen unreturned serve. She added an ace to give the locals a two-point ad. Trinity Johnson-Carter and Eliza Vest later combined on a block to make it 23-18 EP. Fineran followed with an ace, then Keira Mullen, who a few times during the match ripped monster bombs from the right side, smacked a kill off a Westerly dig attempt to finish off the win.

The third game was last tied at 10 when Keira Mullen offered up another of her wicked spikes to put the Townies in front for what keeps, though Westerly made things tight late. EP went up 20-17 on a Bulldog hitting error. A Sanchez kill made it 21-18. Westerly did close to 22-21 on Townie hitting miscue, but the Bulldogs were then whistled for a net violation followed by the last Keira Mullen crusher from the right and a Johnson-Carter kill off the block to end the game and the match.

The regular season now in the rearview mirror, the Townies set their sights on winning a league title for the first time since the aforementioned 2005 D-I triumph. That title capped off a run of five state titles in a row and six in seven years.

As the top seed, East Providence will be home for the quarterfinals on November 2 or 3. The semifinals, if the Townies advance, are set for North Kingstown High on November 7 at 5 p.m. The Division II championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 11, at 1:30 p.m. at Rhode Island College's Walsh Gymnasium.

Eleven teams appear headed towards qualifying for the D-II playoffs. If so, the first five seeds receive a bye into the quarters with teams 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9 playing preliminary round games. Depending on the final regular season standings, East Providence is likely to see one of Bay View, North Smithfield, Lincoln High or Cranston East from the 8-9 game.

Said Escudero of the playoffs ahead, "We have to be mentally tough and put our best on the court because it could be our last time playing every time we go out there."

Added Bernhardt, "We need just to keep working hard and take every moment to get better because it could be our last time playing as a team, taking every moment and making the most of it. Have fun and make the most of it."