SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Of course, the North Kingstown girls volleyball team was thinking at least a little bit about last year. It would be dificult not to.
But mostly, the Skippers were focused more on their future than their past. And securing a win over South Kingstown said a lot about that future.
In the first rivalry meeting since South ended North’s 90-match win streak in the semifinals last year, the new-look Skippers took an important step with a 3-1 win over the previously unbeaten Rebels last Wednesday night.
“We were thinking about it a little bit. There are a few of us who were on that court last year,” junior setter Ella Maack said. “But they have new people, we have new people. It was almost like a clean slate. We just wanted to come out and get a good win.”
The win was the fourth in a row for the Skippers since a loss to La Salle in their league opener. They made it five with a sweep of Coventry on Tuesday.
The defending state champion Rebels were looking for a second straight marquee win when they welcomed North to town. Just two days prior, they completed a dramatic comeback from two sets down to beat La Salle 3-2. While it was a potential momentum builder, it also probably took something out of the Rebels.
“I think there was a little bit of fatigue,” South Kingstown coach Iain McCoy said. “It’s no excuse, but I do think the La Salle match took a lot out of them. I think a lot of that is on me as a coach – not having them as prepared as they should be. We went a little lighter yesterday to save the bodies a little bit. We fought, but NK played an unbelievable game. I can’t take anything away from them. They brought it and we weren’t quite able to step up and match it. Again, that’s on me for not having them prepared enough.”
There didn’t seem to be any trouble early on. The Rebels led throughout game one and cruised to a 25-15 win. Ava Brock got the Rebels to set point with a block, and Sierra Thompson finished it out with a kill.
The Rebels won six of the first eight points in the second set, but North’s turnaround took hold quickly. Four errors by South got the Skippers back to even. Then the Skippers won eight consecutive points. Sydney Henson served up a pair of aces and Annie Draper had a kill and a block to highlight the run.
The Skippers led by as many as 10 before the Rebels staved off set point with five straight. The rally ended there, as North closed out the 25-20 win.
“We felt their crowd, their side in the first game,” Maack said. “We needed to focus on ourselves. I think we got our energy where it needed to be for the next three sets.”
The comeback effort figured to be a good sign for the Rebels, and they followed it up by jumping to a 10-6 lead in the third set. But the Skippers again surged, winning 17 of the next 22 points to take complete control. The run came with an exclamation point as Draper got hot on the outside and slammed home kills on five consecutive points, making it 23-15.
“When I get a few swings going, I try not to get too ahead of myself,” Draper said. “It’s just staying where I am, keeping the energy the same.”
The Rebels made another late push, getting to 24-20 again. One more time, the Skippers went to Draper, and she finished off the 25-20 victory with another kill.
Momentum was firmly on the side of the Skippers in the fourth set, and they started it by winning eight straight points. Carly Lafferty led the charge with three aces. Maack and Mackenzie Lonergan added kills.
After the Rebels steadied themselves briefly, North won five straight points for a 21-8 lead. A kill by Draper and a return into the net by the Rebels sealed the 25-11 victory and the match.
“It was very fun,” Maack said. “We’ve worked for this so much, especially after last year. We really wanted to come back and prove something. Especially after losing two very important players, we wanted to show how we’ve improved.”
They succeeded in that – and they showed themselves something, too.
“Knowing that we can play at this level is huge,” Draper said.
North Kingstown will host Classical on Thursday.
South Kingstown bounced back from the loss to North with a win over Prout on Friday. The Rebels were slated to face Cranston East on Wednesday.
North and South will meet again in the season finale Oct. 27.
“The win over La Salle, coming back like we did, it just shows the heart we have,” McCoy said. “It’s tough to have these kinds of matches back-to-back, but that’s what it’s going to take to win in the playoffs. It’s a great stepping stone for learning.”
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