Providence Christian wins volleyball match, heads to state

After nearly two months of competition, Providence Christian’s volleyball team is now in position to take care of its unfinished business.

The Eagles, who lost a heartbreaker in last year’s state semifinals, have been on a mission to complete the job this season.

Thursday night, they moved a step closer, earning a trip to the state tournament for the fifth time in six years with a convincing 25-6, 25-19, 25-9 win over Ragland in Class 1A sub-state play at the PCS gym.

The Eagles (35-8) will travel to Pelham for the state Elite Eight, which starts Wednesday. PCS plays Spring Garden (16-17) at 11 a.m. in the opener. The semifinals are Wednesday night and the state finals are 1:30 Thursday.

“It is never easy to go back to state, no matter what anybody says,” Providence Christian head coach Bill Oldfield said. “It takes a lot of work to get there. The kids played good, and I am proud of them.”

Providence easily overpowered the outmatched Purple Devils (10-13). Using their balance and ability to attack in different areas, the Eagles capitalized on Ragland’s one-block alignment, setting up kills outside off Sara Cary sets.

In the three games, Providence had 40 kills — just over 13 per game.

“They were putting up just one block, and when we see a one-block, we try to take advantage of it,” Oldfield said.

The Dowd sisters — Katie and Elizabeth — along with Georgia Fabbrini were the main ones taking advantage, combining on 32 of the kills. Katie Dowd had 13, younger sister Elizabeth had 11 and Fabbrini eight.

Whitney Devane earned five kills, Amy Brown three and Theresa Fabbrini had two.

Cary finished with 33 assists to help spark the attack.

Cary also ignited Providence with six aces, and Elizabeth Dowd had five. Madison Longchamp, Katie Dowd and Brown had two each.

Cary and Elizabeth Dowd along with Longchamp were sparkplugs on defense. Cary had eight digs and a solo block, and Dowd had seven digs and two block assists, while Longchamp delivered nine digs.

Katie Dowd added five digs, and Andrea Charlton and Sarah Marshall had three each. Bailey Byrd and Georgia Fabbrini had two each. Brown and Jessica Mizell had a block assist each, and Devane had a solo block.

Providence established control early, seizing an 8-0 to start the match. Cary had an ace and Georgia Fabbrini a kill to spark the run.

After a serve into the net, the Eagles scored 10 straight points to build a commanding 18-1 advantage. Katie Dowd had two kills off Cary assists in the run.

Behind Reagan Campbell, Ragland had a mini-run, scoring four points, but that was as close as the Purple Devils would get in the game.

A kill by Elizabeth Dowd ended it at 25-6.

“We wanted to play fast like we always do and hit hard at them,” Oldfield said.

The second game was a different story as Providence came out lackadaisical, making mistakes. Ragland cashed in to earn a 4-2 lead. Lauren Wright had an ace among the points.

The Providence mistakes continued and Ragland maintained the lead, eventually going up 11-8.

After a timeout, the Eagles regained the momentum, scoring five of six points to take a 13-12 lead on two aces by Elizabeth Dowd.

Dowd served out of bounds, giving Ragland a point and knotting the score at 13, but Providence responded with five straight points to go up 18-13. Katie Dowd had a kill and Devane a block in the spurt.

Ragland cut it to two, but the Eagles gradually pulled away, finally ending the game at 25-19 on an ace by Cary.

The Purple Cats stayed in contention early in the third game and led 4-3, but Providence scored five straight to take the lead, one it didn’t relinquish.
The Eagles pulled away late, scoring eight straight during a Longchamp service rotation to seize a 23-8 lead. Longchamp had both of her aces in the run, and Elizabeth Dowd had three kills.

A block by J.J. Looney gave Ragland a point, but the Purple Devils then had a violation then returned out of bounds on the ensuing serve, giving Providence the final two points in a 25-8 win.

“We let down in the second game and had a loss of energy, but the girls came back strong in the third game with a lot of energy,” Oldfield said.

In addition to winning, Providence got an emotional lift Thursday. Senior Andrea Charlton, who has missed most of the season after knee surgery, played briefly in the third game after being cleared by doctors earlier in the day.

“It was great for the kids,” Oldfield said. “We have been playing without her for about half the season, and the kids are excited to have her back. Whether she is a standout in our lineup or not remains to be seen, but having her back is a boost.”