By ALEX SPONSELLER The top-seeded Cranston West girls volleyball team was swept 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) by the No. 4 seed Coventry Oakers at home on Monday evening in the Division I Quarterfinals.

Although the Falcons entered the match as the higher seed, the Oakers posed a tough matchup, beating West 3-0 in the early season matchup as well.

Coventry worked its way to the 25-16 win in the first set. West responded early in the second and mounted a 10-4 lead. However, the momentum was short-lived as Coventry rolled the rest of the way to go up 2-0. The teams were tied late in the third set as well, by the Oakers would pick up the last few points to clinch the victory.

“They are very well rounded, we knew that going in. It was a tough draw for the first round. I think the difference in the game was the unforced errors, we made more than they did,” said West coach Tom Ferri after the loss. “We didn’t serve very well. We would get a little bit of momentum but then serve out. They are well-balanced, that was the difference today.”

The Coventry defense was on point for the majority of the evening with the West offense unable to consistently generate an attack. Ferri was also impressed with Coventry’s ability to control the middle up front.

“They got more out of the middle than we did. They have some outside hitters that are pretty good and we just couldn’t get much in the middle, our passes were too deep on the serve. They are just so well-balanced, they have a big outside hitter that didn’t do too much damage, but they were able to go through the middle,” said Ferri.

The Falcons will now flip the page toward 2022. West is set to graduate a handful of seniors, and Ferri enjoyed his time coaching the core.

“This has been one of the easiest teams to coach. These girls just love to play volleyball and of all the years that I have coached, this is certainly one of the more memorable ones,” said Ferri.

The Cranston East girls volleyball team also fell in its quarterfinals matchup, being swept 3-0 by North Kingstown. The Skippers took the win by scores of 25-14, 25-21, 25-17.