BARRINGTON — The East Providence High School boys' volleyball team was bounced from the 2024 Division II championship tournament by the narrowest of margins last Wednesday night, June 5, in the semifinal round as host Barrington eclipsed the Townies in five rather close sets.

The second-seeded Eagles and third-seeded Townies, in fact, went the distance and a few points beyond before the hosts earned the 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25 and 16-14 victory.

Barrington advanced to the league title match opposite top-seeded Cranston West on Friday night, June 7, at Rhode Island College. The Falcons, themselves, went four tight games with fourth-seeded Lincoln in their semi, winning 25-23, 17-25, 26-24 and 29-27.

For the Townies, their 2024 campaign came to a close with a 14-5 overall record in D-II outings this spring.

"I cannot say enough good things about this team," EPHS head coach Dan Cabral said of his Townies after the gut-wrenching loss to the Eagles.

He continued, "We battled tonight to force a fifth set after being down 2-0. The team showed grit and determination up until the final point."

The Townies certainly did, doing so after a somewhat sluggish start to the semis.

Barrington methodically built a lead throughout the first set, holding a 14-10 margin at the midway point. The Eagles eventually pulled away late en route to the eight-point win.

East Providence began to find some form in Game 2. Jordan Rodrigues, DJ Lepine and Brandon Mimande each had their moments hitting, but Barrington still managed to hang on for the three-point win and more importantly the 2-0 edge in sets.

The momentum clearly shifted in East Providence's favor in Game 3 when the visitors obviously needed it most.

The Townies never trailed again after taking a 17-16 lead when the Eagles were called for a net violation attempting to block a potential Mimande kill.

Lepine next added a pair of put-downs to help increase EP's advantage, but Barrington answered to later re-tie the game at 23 on a Townie hitting miscue.

The Eagles, in kind, committed a service error to give the Townies game point. Barrington next poorly returned a sharp Lepine serve, setting up an easy Mimande block to secure the two-point win for his side.

Clearly feeling better about its performance, East Providence maintained the mojo in the fourth set. The Townies' lead grew to a high of six (21-15) on a Rodrigues' ace.

Barrington scored the next four points to cut its deficit to a pair, but EP countered with its own four-point run to end the game. Lepine sandwiched two kills around an Eagle net infraction. Logan Calouro then served an ace for the Townies to seal the victory.

Both teams desperate for the overall win took to the floor with heightened desperation in the shorter fifth and final set. And neither disappointed with their effort.

The Townies eventually found themselves on the brink, trailing 14-12 when they committed a return error, but Barrington followed with two missteps in a row — a net violation and a wayward hit — to bring the score back level for what would be one last time.

The Eagles put down their 15 point then watched as EP failed to return the ensuing serve bringing to a close the game and the match in Barrington's favor and, disappointingly for the locals, the season for the Townies.

Lepine, the Townies' standout senior hitter, finished with 14 kills and two blocks in his final high school contest. Classmate and superb setter Loden Broe assisted on 35 points in his last game for EPHS.

Rodrigues had 15 kills and 13 digs while Mimande had 10 kills and 14 digs. The juniors are expected to form the nucleus of the next spring's edition of the Townies along with classmates Calouro and Franklin Carela Lopez.