'Bolts sweep Avengers to remain unbeaten

The undefeated Cranston East Thunderbolts went into second-place East Greenwich High School and swept the Avengers, 3-0, on Monday evening while moving to 8-0 this season. It was only the second loss of the season for East Greenwich, which moves it into a tie with Classical.

The ’Bolts’ James Tang led the way with 34 assists.

“James Tang has been doing a lot of work,” Cranston East head coach Meaghan McGonagle said. “He’s a junior setter. He’s excellent. We talk about how he is in control of the game. The setter’s the one that touches it every single time it comes on our side. If he speeds it up, we speed up. If he slows it down, we slow it down. And how he really needs to make smart decisions. And he’s progressing. He is making better and better decisions every day.”

Senior Theo Khvang added nine kills for Cranston East.

The ’Bolts came out of the gate strong with Tang taking command early and setting up Theo Khvang for a loud spike to give Cranston East a 1-0 lead. The ’Bolts went up 9-0 after kills from Kush Patel, Andrew Khvang and Theo Khvang on serve.

East Greenwich got its first point when Theo Khvang committed a fault on serve. Later in the set, Theo Khvang had a pair of kills, plus a block on East Greenwich junior Tom Shaughnessy, putting the ’Bolts up 17-6. On serve, junior Jacob Glantz hit back-to-back aces to give Cranston East a 22-9 lead. The ’Bolts would roll to a 25-11 victory in the set.

In set two, Theo Khvang assisted to Andrew Khvang to give Cranston East an early 1-0 edge. A little later, Cranston East held a 5-4 advantage until East Greenwich’s Cole Campbell scored with a dig, tying it at 5. A spike from ’Bolts’ senior David Thoeung put Cranston East up one. On serve, Thoeung scored three straight points to give Cranston East a 9-5 lead. Moments later, the ’Bolts put another run of three consecutive points together, including a point from Glantz, who scored on a return and Tang on serve, making it 14-6. Nevertheless, East Greenwich fought back to within 18-15. And moments after, East Greenwich drew closer when Matt Sommer earned a block in front to pull East Greenwich within 19-18, before tying it at 20 on a point in front from Shaughnessy. However, East Greenwich’s next serve from Sommer would sail out of play, giving the ’Bolts a 21-20 advantage. Tang assisted to Glantz for a kill next and East Greenwich had a return error on the play after that, putting the ’Bolts up 23-20. A double block by East Greenwich’s Shaughnessy and Matt Plympton, plus a point from Sam Comito, pulled East Greenwich within 23-22. But, Cranston East would nab the set when Glantz scored and Patel landed a spike, giving Cranston East a 25-22 win.   

In the third set, Cranston East fell into a 5-0 hole. It found itself down by as much as 18-10. But, the ’Bolts would score six straight points, including one from Patel on serve to get within 18-16. The ’Bolts would battle back and tie it at 23 when Theo Khvang hit an ace past Shaughnessy. The battle continued and Patel passed to Andrew Khvang for the kill to tie it at 24. Cranston East won the match with a 26-24 victory in set three, when Kim Hout scored on serve before Tang assisted to Patel for the game-winner.