Too early for title dreams? Don't tell that to Barrington girls volleyball
BARRINGTON — It may seem too early for championship favorites or even contenders.
But the Barrington girls volleyball team will be in the mix in Division II come November. It’s a testament to the program that’s been in a rebuild since a winless spring in 2021 and to the coaching staff that landed a title with the Barrington boys last season.
Coaches Ron Enos and Christian Lambert share a sideline for both Barrington teams. The boys erased previous demons and captured the program’s first title in the spring. The girls could follow suit as they’re off to a start that certainly fits that billing.
“After the semifinals last year, we kind of came back and said we have something to prove,” Ruby Ciummo said. “We want it really bad; I do think it's very special.”
Ciummo owns the middle just like her brother Jimmy did in the spring for Barrington. The senior compiled 10 kills and three blocks in a 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 sweep of a talented Westerly team on Monday night.
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Barrington is a modest 4-2 to start the season, but it has front-loaded its schedule with D-I teams. That will help in RPI standings at the end of the year, if it comes to it, and has helped the team work out kinks early in the season.
“After losing to East Providence and Prout, we kind of knew we lost because we gave up too many runs,” Ciummo said. “We've been working really hard in practice just to compete and finish and just be the best we can and play really fast.”
East Providence was Barrington’s thorn in the semifinals last season as the Townies won in five sets and then finished off Cumberland in the finals for a perfect season. East Providence is in D-I now. Again Barrington took the Townies to five sets, but ultimately fell.
Exacting some revenge on East Providence — which on the same night that Barrington swept Westerly, took a set against North Kingstown, a feat all its own in D-I — would’ve been a tremendous feeling. But a nonleague win in September isn’t really what Barrington is aiming for.
“They have goals and we talk about goals and setting goals,” Enos said. “And for me, it's just about getting better. And they don't quite look at it the same way I might. I know they're looking at it as a potential special season. I'm looking at it, are we getting better every day?”
Barrington forced Prout into five sets after the East Providence game and the Crusaders are 7-1 in D-I. The Eagles know they can play at that level. If they go on to win a championship in a couple of months, a well-deserved promotion to that league where they last appeared in championship in 2018, might be in store. That’s ultimately what every program, in every sport, should be striving towards and Barrington has that figured out.
“I think it helped us kind of see what we needed to improve on,” junior Emma McCrann said of playing tougher competition. “It also kind of helped us know the potential that we can play at. I know when we played EP, that was a really tough game, but we figured it out. We are a great team and we can play at this level.”
The Eagles still surrendered the same runs that plagued them earlier in the year in the first and second sets vs. Westerly after surging to 9-2 and 14-8 leads. But the third set was a clinic that they’re hoping to see a lot as the season wears on.
There are a couple of more D-I games on the Eagles’ slate, along with top teams in their own league, but crowning moments aren’t for a while so they’ll still have to prove it.
“We just really need to compete more,” Ciummo said. “I think we had those [D-I] teams. I think it was just an issue with just competing throughout the entire game and staying high in energy.”
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Barrington girls volleyball is a Division II championship contender
