The second-seeded Cranston East boys volleyball team took care of business last week as it swept visiting Chariho 3-0 in the Division I Quarterfinals. The win sends the Bolts back to the semifinals with a chance to reach the championship match.

The Bolts were aggressive up front as Charles Pincince and Dennis Dixon attacked the Chariho defense from start to finish. Pincince led the Bolts with 20 kills and used last year’s semifinal loss as fuel as he looks to bring the team to the title game.

“We’re going all the way through, I’m not letting us get stuck in the semifinals, we’re making it to the finals,” said Pincince. “We’ve played together for a few years so we have that chemistry that connection that some other teams don’t have. We’ve created those connections.”

“(Charles and I) are best friends on and off the court. Whenever we’re in sync, we play an amazing game,” added Dixon. “We’re extremely hungry, that loss in semis is nothing but motivation. We just have to be aggressive at the net, be consistent and execute every ball. We need to keep that mental toughness.”

The Bolts faced Bishop Hendricken in the semifinals at Rhode Island College on Tuesday, but the results were unavailable at press time. The top-seeded North Kingstown Skippers entered the semis undefeated after shutting out Coventry in the quarters.

NK dealt the Bolts three losses this season, but the East leaders remain confident that they will get past the Hawks and have all the pieces to pull off a potential upset.

“A lot of it is the emotion. It was extremely rough losing in the semifinals and that’s something that I don’t want to see happen again. We have the physical skill, we have the athleticism and talent. It was just about building that connection as teammates and getting to know each other and we’ve done that,” said Pincince. 

Dixon added: We have momentum and it’s a credit to everything we do, it’s a reward for the hard work we put in at practice. This is our shot, this is our opportunity to prove that Cranston East is a top tier program. A win this year would put us on the map.”