Middletown Girls Volleyball Team Falls to Narragansett

It took Narragansett about 48 minutes to power its way past an overmatched Middletown girls’ volleyball squad on Thursday night.

Narragansett (8-1, 8-1 Division II-South) subbed liberally throughout the match against Middletown (0-9, 0-9 Division II-South), only playing all of its starters in the first set. The Mariners took all three sets: 25-8, 25-12 and 25-15

As they’ve done most of the year, Narragansett jumped out to big leads thanks to the play of sophomore Gabrielle Leclerc and junior Hannah Maymon. Both had multiple kills for the Mariners.

With the game in hand early, Narragansett head coach Joni Stern-Lonczak said she tried to work in her seniors – Samantha Sabetti, Taylor Ayotte, Alison Rugg, Marisa Haggstrom and Vicky Alves – as much as possible.

“They do play really hard [in practice], and they played well today,” Stern-Lonczak said. “They’ve been coming along very well this season.”

She added that the score allowed her to work different combinations, in case she loses players later in the year, for whatever reason.

“It’s a chance for other players who know those positions to play,” she said. “When the opportunity arises, you have to give everyone a chance.”

Middletown is in the midst of a rebuilding effort for the program. The Islanders went 10-5 in 2009 and 4-10 in 2010, but this year, they do not have a senior on the team.

Islanders’ head coach Karen Massaro said it shows in the team’s consistency.

“When he make a mistake, we tend to get into a rutt,” she said adding that she was happy with their effort.

“They communicate really well and hustle.”

The Islanders also had a strong rooting contingent, even though the game was more than 30 minutes away, a dreadful trip for many Rhode Islanders. At times, the cheers for Middletown outweighed those for the host.

“We really have good, strong family and friend support,” Massaro said.

The Mariners will look to avenge their only loss of the season Tuesday, as they travel to Exeter-West Greenwich for a 6 p.m. match. The Scarlet Knights are 11-0 overall, and 9-0 in Division II-South.

EWG has only lost three sets all year, and no one has managed to win two sets in a single game against them. When the Mariners hosted them on Sept. 15, they managed to take the third set, but lost the fourth game 25-17.

Middletown hosts Mt. Hope (3-6, 3-5 Division II-South) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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