It would have been a major upset for the Cranston West girls’ volleyball team to knock off top-seeded, undefeated East Greenwich in the Division II semifinals at URI’s Keaney Gymnasium on Thursday night.

The Falcons still almost did it. It all came down to game three.

After the Avengers rolled to a 25-12 win in game one and No. 3 West returned the favor with a 25-8 win in game two, the Falcons stormed back from down 24-16 in game three to tie the score at 24 and again at 25.

But they couldn’t find any more magic to finish off the game, as East Greenwich managed to pull it out 27-25. Deflated, West then lost game four 25-15 to lose the match 3-1 and have its season come to an end.

The Falcons know it might have been different if they had been able to complete the comeback and win the swing game.

“In the third game, we had a little letdown there, but battled back,” said West head coach Tom Ferri. “I really thought we were going to grab that game. I think that was the deciding game right there.”

Still, it was a third straight successful season for West, which went 11-5 – the third time in a row it won at least 11 games – and won a playoff match for the third straight season. It also took things a step further than last year, when it was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

This season, West was able to beat Burrillville in the preliminary round and upset No. 2 Barrington in the quarterfinals.

East Greenwich went on to defeat Pilgrim 3-0 in the D-II championship match on Sunday.

The Falcons would have liked to be playing that day, but a little perspective helped the team realize what it accomplished.

“You have to keep everything in perspective,” Ferri said. “If we win another game, we’re a two seed and maybe it’s a little different scenario. We’d have to beat East Greenwich at some point, even if we were in the other bracket and we made it to the finals.”

West got a well-rounded statistical effort from its team, as Beatrice Bella stood out with seven kills, followed by five kills apiece from Emilia Vaziri and Alexis Mirabile. Kim Kluglein had three aces, while Lexi Tella had nine digs and Marissa Cushman added seven digs.

“I knew it was going to be a battle coming in,” Ferri said. “They’re undefeated. Good team, we played them twice during the regular season. I thought we played them well. I thought we played with them today.”

The Falcons seemed overwhelmed in game one, as East Greenwich used its superior size to rack up kills and hard hits off West’s blocks. The Avengers led 12-2 right from the beginning – with standouts Jenna and Joy Pelosi, Keira Meiser, Spencer Taylor and setter Phoebe Wong leading the way. That score ballooned to 21-10 before long, with the Falcons never making a serious threat. A pair of aces from Taylor finished the game off.

Game two was a totally different story. It was West that jumped way ahead, taking a 7-3 lead on an ace by Mirabile and leading 17-5 soon after. Lauren Salisbury finished the game with five straight service points.

Then came the turning point. East Greenwich appeared back in control in game three, breaking open a 14-14 game by winning 10 of the next 12 points.

Down 24-16, facing eight consecutive match points, West fought back. Fiona Hanley had a block on the first point, with Mirabile registering one on the next point. Two consecutive hitting errors by the Avengers made it 24-20, and a kill by Mirabile closed the gap even more. Two more East Greenwich hitting errors on either side of an ace by Tella tied the score at 24.

East Greenwich set up its ninth game point at 25-24 on a West hitting error, but the Falcons re-tied the score at 25 on a push to the back by Hanley.

The Avengers re-grouped, getting a tip from Wong to set up a 10th game point, and then a net violation on West clinched the game for East Greenwich.

“The girls played great,” Ferri said. “They battled and played hard against a very good team. We came up a little short in that third one.”

With that brutal defeat fresh in their minds, the Falcons couldn’t muster much in game four, falling behind 10-2 and 17-9 before getting only as close as 17-13. East Greenwich then won eight of the final 10 points to win the match.

West’s season ended, but only after a valiant effort.

“If you asked me at the beginning of the year if I would have been satisfied to get to this point, I would have said certainly yes,” Ferri said. “But when you get here, you’re never satisfied, and you want to win the championship.”

The Falcons will graduate a big group of seniors. They are: Salisbury, Alexandria Materese, Sophia Trapassi, Sidney Conley, Hanley, Brianna Caputo, Mirabile, Isabella Diaz and Bella.