JHS volleyball off to strong start

After six years in Division II, the Johnston girls’ volleyball team is back this season in Division III, where it won the 2004 championship and finished as the runner-up in 2005.

And the Panthers are making themselves right at home.

Johnston beat previously undefeated Masters Regional Academy 3-2 on Tuesday to improve its record to 4-1. Johnston’s only loss so far was a 3-1 defeat to Mt. Pleasant last Thursday.

The win over Masters was Johnston’s second five-game victory this year, and both have come after Johnston dropped the first two games.

That resiliency is one of many reasons why the Panthers have high hopes for their return trip to D-III.

“The girls are fantastic this year, they really are,” said head coach Greta Lalli. “They have so much potential and so much talent. Now we’ve just got to get them solid all around and solid at the beginning.”

The Panthers had mixed results in their stint in Division II. They went 4-12 their first year and 2-14 the next year before going winless for two consecutive years. They bounced back with 7-7 and 5-9 campaigns the last two seasons.

As part Rhode Island Interscholastic League realignment in 2010, Division III was eliminated and all the D-III teams joined Johnston in D-II. Before this year, D-III was reinstated and Johnston headed back down.

With a track record of success at that level, the sky’s the limit for the Panthers, who bring back several key contributors from last year’s team. Junior captains Alex DiRaimo and Erin Tvenstrup lead the way, with DiRaimo as the team’s top threat at the net and Tvenstrup manning the setter spot. Sophomore Francesca Gaudiana is also setting.

Seniors Tessa Centracchio and Larissa Nasisi provide a veteran presence, while junior Victoria Parente also brings some experience to the table. Sophomore Dana Desmarais has emerged as a top hitter, and the sophomore class also features Angela Gallucci, Casey Howe, Alexa Tavares, Katherine Rocha and Gisselle Blanco. Freshman Katerina Athaide is also on the varsity roster.

The Panthers expect to improve and jell as the season goes on, but they’ve already found plenty of success. They opened the season with three straight wins over Rogers, Central and St. Raphael before the loss to Mt. Pleasant.

On Tuesday, it looked like the Panthers might be headed for a losing streak when Masters won the first game 25-17 and the second 25-21.

But Johnston, which had rallied from a 2-0 hole against Central, knew what needed to be done.

“It’s hard for a coach when their mind is out of the game,” Lalli said. “Physically, they know how to do everything. Mentally, they have to get themselves there. I do my best, but it’s all them. That’s the hardest part. I think they realized what they had to do. They pumped themselves up. They said, ‘We did this against Central. We can do it again.’”

And they did it.

Johnston steadily built a lead in game three, getting an ace from Tvenstrup and a tip from Gaudiana to power a four-point run for an 11-6 cushion. Two kills by DiRaimo and an ace by Gaudiana made it 14-8 before DiRaimo stepped to the service line. She served up three aces and added a kill to spark a run of six straight. Johnston led 20-9.

At that point, Masters reasserted itself and won 13 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 22-22. But Johnston buckled down. With the score tied at 25-25, Johnston got a point on a service error then clinched the win with an ace by Centracchio.

Game four was a back-and-forth affair until Johnston caught fire midway through. Coming out of a timeout, Johnston got a tip and two aces from Gaudiana to power a five-point burst. After a point for Masters, a kill by Desmarais sparked a three-point surge, and the Warriors never got closer than nine. DiRaimo landed a kill after a long rally for game point, and Gaudiana pushed a ball to an open spot to clinch the 25-14 win.

Armed with momentum, Johnston won the first two points of game five before falling behind 5-3. After two errors, Masters won three more points in a row to go up 8-5.

Then the Panthers came to life. A service error made it 8-6 and Desmarais served up an ace to make it 8-7. DiRaimo tied the game with a kill before another Desmarais ace made it 9-8.

From there, Johnston never trailed. Tvenstrup had an ace to make it 11-0, before a kill and a block by DiRaimo pushed it to 13-10. Masters won the next two points to make it interesting, but a service error gave Johnston match point. Desmarais then put down a kill to clinch the victory for the Panthers.

“It takes more strength to come back from 0-2 then winning in a sweep,” Lalli said. “To come back – that’s a champion. We’ve done it twice. It’s fantastic to see it, but at the same time, you want them to start and finish and be solid the whole time. That’s something we need to work on.”

Whatever the path, the Panthers have reached their goals more often than not so far this season. They’ll start chasing bigger goals soon enough.

“They can go extremely far if they put their hearts and minds into it,” Lalli said. “They have to keep working hard.”

The Panthers will return to action today when they visit Shea at 5:30 p.m. They’ll return home next Thursday to face Middletown at 5:30 p.m.