Unified Volleyball celebrated a championship last Saturday afternoon, defeating the Rhode Island School for the Deaf in decisive fashion. It adds to an impressive stretch of dominance from the Unified program, as they capped off an undefeated season.
“For the past couple of years, our team has really focused on highlighting each person’s best skill and helping them with the skills they are a little less dominant in,” said junior helper Ameenah Waahid.
They were 8-0 this year, and their coaching has led to an impressive playoff run. They claimed the championship last weekend, and it stems from getting the best out of their players. Coached by Karen Correia and Marietta Khimatian, they run scenarios and drills that are game realistic, which has led to lots of success the past few years.
“Coaches help empower the athletes as they understand our strengths and weaknesses, and can offer support for struggling kids. Coches are the backbone of the team,” said junior helper Brayden Brouillard.
On top of this, the emphasis placed on teamwork has been a major credit to their success.
“Teamwork has allowed our team to come closer than ever before,” said Brouillad. “Every time we practice, we do not split into small friend groups; instead, we all practice together. After many practices, we became one big family. We understand each other.”
They have been a consistent playoff team, and this is their second championship in the last three years. Their run this season featured some big wins, including blowouts over Burrillville and a big win during the school day versus Cumberland during Spirit Week, on Throwback Thursday. They won the latter in dominant fashion, allowing only 15 points in the first two points, before finishing them off in a 3-0 sweep, while the crowd watched in flannel and old-school jerseys.
The neutral site game at LaSalle was a rematch of their championship two years ago, when they defeated the Rhode Island School for the Deaf in a close, back and forth game 2-1.
“Our first game we got the lead and kept it throughout the game,” said Coach Correia. “The second game, the score was up and down throughout the game. The team pulled it together in the end and won the game. They were elated for the win! They won both sets by over eight points, 25-14 and 25-17.
This victory adds another championship to the multitude of banners hanging in the LHS gym. The unified program as a whole has been on a tear, and this championship adds to several rings in basketball and volleyball. They look to continue their excellent performances in Division 6 for years to come.
