By BRANDEN MELLO

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COVENTRY — While the answer won’t be definitive, tonight’s Division I semifinal volleyball match between I-South champion Coventry and I-North runner-up Classical poses the question; which offensive ideology gives you a better chance of becoming a state champion?

What is the better offensive approach, Coventry’s diversified attack spearheaded by senior middles Steph Carlu and Alycia Broccoli, or Classical’s approach, which is to get the ball to unstoppable senior all-state hitter Brennan Johnson and see what she can do against a defense geared to stop her.

“We know that if you want to stop Classical, you have to stop Brennan Johnson, there’s no secret what they are going to bring to the table with her,” Coventry head coach Leo Bush said yesterday afternoon. “The real question is where is she going to play?

“She’s played a little on the left, a little bit on the right. So, it’s just going to come down to our front line being real knowledgeable of where she is and being knowledgeable about what part of their offense they’re going to run.”

When the two teams met last season at Coventry High, Johnson helped Classical defeat the Oakers on their way to the D-I quarterfinals. The two teams did not meet this year but were ready to meet in the Koch Eye semifinals when the Oakers lost to West Warwick in the quarters.

While the common strategy against a star player is to give them their kills and make other beat you, Bush said his goal is for his team to stop Johnson, who had 12 kills and three blocks in the Purple’s first playoff match, and stop Classical’s offense. Classical’s setter, Jessica Ho, had 24 assists and was perfect from the service line in the quarterfinal win over South Kingstown.

“I want to take away everything she does, just for the simple fact that defensively they are going to key everything around her,” Bush said. “Offensively, they are going to key everything around her. She can hurt us at the net blocking, just as much as she can hurt us hitting, so we’re in a situation we were a couple of years ago with East Providence’s (current UNH middle hitter) Starsha (Tunstall).”

A more contemporary comparison to Johnson would be North Kingstown all-state hitter Casey Whitehead. Whitehead had 23 kills in a match against Coventry earlier this season and the Oakers still won. The key for Coventry was to score points when Whitehead was in the back row or out of the match.

The only difference tonight is Johnson plays all six rotations and she’s almost as dangerous swinging out of the pipe as she is when she’s attacking sets in the front row.

“We went through the same thing with Casey at North Kingstown,” Bush said. “When we see her go to the back row, that’s where we say ‘Ok, now our chance. Now let’s see what we can do with her not in the front row. Let’s see if we can command the net a little bit more.’”

One thing Bush is certain of, whether Johnson is in the front row or not, is that his two talented middle hitters are going to be facing constant double and triple blocks when setter Hannah Cole tries to go the middle. That’s why, according to Bush, it’s important for his sophomore setter to diversify the offense and move the ball around to outside hitters Jessica Imondi and Sarah Biondo      

And, to make sure his team isn’t too predictable, Bush has made sure some of his girls start attacking out of the back row to try and keep the other team’s block honest.

“Our middles are going to have to be very mindful of the fact that there’s going to be hands in front of them,” Bush said. “Hannah’s going to have to be mindful that there’s going to be someone planted on her forehead all night long. The big question is what can our middles do to mix up their speeds to make sure their back row is being honest? The wild card is we have Jess and Sara on the outside.”

The last time Bush and the Oakers found themselves in the semifinals was against Tunstall and the then four-time defending state champion Townies back in 2005. The Oakers, with the score 14-13, served for the match, but they eventually lost 18-16 in the fifth set and the Townies went on to win the state title over South Kingstown. 
The good news for both teams coming into tonight’s 7:00 p.m. match at Keaney Gymnasium on the campus of URI is they’re both playing some of their best volleyball of the season. Classical, after losing to undefeated defending state champion La Salle 3-1, has reeled off five consecutive sweeps, including a comfortable win over South Kingstown in the quarterfinals.

The Oakers, meanwhile, have swept their last four opponents and they’ve won nine straight matches dating back to a heavy defeat at the hands of the Rams back on Oct. 6. 

“We’ve just worked so hard this season to get to the semifinals,” Biondo said. “We were here everyday after school, we came in on the weekend. We worked out butts off and we’re definitely ready.”