The following was written by Journal Sports Writer Bill Koch of the Providence Journal:
Moira O’Neill started doing the math long before she was a freshman.
There would be enough girls to field teams in volleyball, basketball and softball by the time she finished her last four years at Block Island School.
This is far from an annual guarantee in a place where the total enrollment from kindergarten through 12th grade is less than 150 students. But O’Neill happened to come of age in something of a golden generation for the Hurricanes, one that took them into the ranks of the championship contenders in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.
“We’re not the team that’s competitive against each other,” O’Neill said. “We’re not fighting for spots or building animosity against teammates to get more playing time. We want everyone to play.”
That’s exactly what O’Neill and her teammates did throughout her high school years — quite well, in fact. The highlight came in November, as the Hurricanes chased their first RIIL championship of any kind. St. Raphael ultimately came away with a victory in the Division III girls volleyball final, but it’s the show of community support at Rhode
