The Cranston East volleyball team ended the first half of the season with a 6-2 record and victories over all the teams that were below it in the standings.

In the second half of the season, East is playing all the same teams. And while the ’Bolts own a big victory over Cranston West and a win over Narragansett, they haven’t been able to take care of business the same way they did in the first half.

East fell 3-1 to Pilgrim on Thursday night, its second rematch loss in as many weeks. The second half of the season opened with a 3-2 loss to Toll Gate. East had beaten both teams 3-1 early in the season.

The ’Bolts are still 8-5, having already matched last year’s win total with three games to play, and they should be safely into the postseason. But the losses to the Titans and Patriots have left them feeling like things could be better.

“The second half of the season, other teams have really improved so much,” said East head coach Meg McGonagle. “We’ve improved as well, but I think we walk into some games thinking we’re going to win just like we did the first time. It doesn’t happen like that, and I think they’re having some trouble keeping the momentum going.”

East Greenwich leads Division II-South with a 13-0 record. Nobody is close to the Avengers, but nearly everybody else is close to each other. As of Monday, Pilgrim and Cranston West were tied for second place at 8-4, with East a half-game back at 8-5. West Warwick, Warwick Vets and Toll Gate are next in line, competing for the final two playoff spots.

East was hoping to cement its spot in second place against Pilgrim. It’s a crucial position, with the top two teams getting a bye to the quarterfinals. Teams seeded third and below have to play a preliminary-round game.

“The No. 2 spot comes with home-court advantage, a bye, when you meet certain teams,” McGonagle. “The difference between two and three is pretty big.”

East could still end up in second place, but Thursday’s loss didn’t help the cause.

It started well enough, as East took the first game against Pilgrim 25-18. But the Pats edged East in the next game 26-24 then rode the momentum to 25-18 and 25-10 victories.

Amanda Rosa had seven kills and 11 digs for East, while Emma Jutras had 22 assists and four aces. But once Pilgrim heated up, the ’Bolts couldn’t keep pace.

In game one, East rode steady play to the seven-point victory. A kill by Rosa sparked a 5-1 start, and East never trailed from there. Rosa had two kills in the game, while McKenzie Richards had two kills and a block. East made only a handful of errors, while Pilgrim’s miscues piled up.

“Game one was exactly what we’ve been planning,” McGonagle said. “They were doing everything we’ve talked about in practice about being a second half of the season team. They really came out and showed it – hitting spots, cleaning up a game, cutting down on errors.”

In game two, East played a similar brand of volleyball, but Pilgrim cut down on its mistakes and stayed closer. The Pats rallied from a 22-19 deficit with four straight points. Colleen Conti had two kills, while Megan St. Jacques had a kill and a block.

East got to 24-23, but a kill by Conti on the next point landed just inside the end line to tie the score. Nancy Alvarez followed with an ace and Emma Thibodeau finished a long point with a block to give Pilgrim the 26-24 victory.

“When you tie it up in that second game, you can take a deep breath and feel like you’re starting all over,” said Pilgrim head coach Kelly Harrington. “You’re not carrying any baggage with you.”

Instead, it was East that had the baggage.

“We haven’t spend much time as the underdog this season and I think that’s something the girls aren’t aware of – how hard it is to come back,” McGonagle said. “It happened to us at Toll Gate. We were up two games and they won the next two. Coming back after a team’s rally is tough to do, and we haven’t had to do it very much.”

Pilgrim up a 10-5 lead in game three and never trailed from there. East tied the score five separate times, but Pilgrim eventually pulled away, turning an 18-16 lead into a 23-16 cushion thanks to a run of five straight, sparked by a Deveny Dionne kill and a Casey White block. After East made it 23-18, Pilgrim won the next two points.

In game four, Pilgrim rolled, going on two separate runs of seven points in a row to open up a 17-4 lead. Dionne and Conti delivered kills to get to match point and East couldn’t return Dionne’s final serve, giving Pilgrim the 25-10 win.

Conti led the Pats with 12 kills, while St. Jacques had seven kills and six blocks.

“We realize there are only about three weeks left,” Harrington said. “We want to make the most of it and see how far we can go.”

East has three matches left in the regular season, beginning with Thursday’s match against West Warwick, another team the ’Bolts beat in the first half of the season. East plays at Westerly on Saturday then hosts Warwick Vets on Tuesday for its season finale.