Varsity volleyball girls rolling toward post season
Thursday, October 17 was a day of sweet revenge for the Shelter Island JV volleyball team.
When they first met Knox earlier in the season, the Falcons featured one tough server who unbalanced the Blue and Gray. This time, in the hometown gym, it was Shelter Island who jumped out to a big lead early on the strong arm and six aces of Melissa Frasco.
The JV continues to improve its communication and movement, and there was a dramatic difference between their pass, set, and hit strategy and the often “one (or two) and over” play of Knox. Julia Labrozzi scrambles well, and her defense kept Shawna Goody well supplied with good passes. Colibri Lopez and Amira Lawrence steadily led the charge in the middle of the court swinging hard at Shawna’s sets. The first set ended quickly, 25-14.
The second set was a back and forth battle. Elizabeth Dunning has been working on her focus, and moved well to the ball. Genesis Urbaez keeps the team in smiles as her expressive face and moves lets us know exactly when she is happy, confused or chagrinned. Eight missed serves let the Falcons back in before Colibri’s block, then a tip 2 points later and a Shawna ace sealed the match victory 25-22.
With the match already in hand, the team relaxed, but continued to play well. Taylor Rando ran the floor with her sets. Liz Larsen, who has been hitting with more authority, registered two kills and Melissa ended the day the way she started, scoring three additional aces. The final set was 25-18, for the sweep.
The previous day, October 16, both the varsity and JV teams had traveled to Port Jefferson. We don’t always travel well, and although Port Jeff is at the bottom of the league, playing in their gym is often a struggle.
In addition, senior captain Logan Pendergrass had been injured in a car accident the previous Saturday and will be out for the remainder of the season. Freshman Amira Lawrence had been tapped to fill in for her as a middle hitter. Amira is tall and has good instincts, but is still young. The varsity team supported her well, and I doubt the Royals even noticed her youth as she contributed well both offensively and defensively.
The varsity squad led off the afternoon. Captain and senior Erin Colligan stepped up her leadership, with her actions speaking louder than words. She was swinging hard right from the start of the match as others were still tentative.
Bre Rietvelt found her groove and scored a personal best 11 kills. Kenna Mccarthy’s calm leadership was key and especially noticeable as she served 13 straight points at the start of the third set. Kelly Colligan’s quick reactions and excellent ability to read developing plays was key to anticipating the unpredictable Royals attack.
The team as a whole improved their baseline game, serving to specific spots to take the PJ setter out of the offense. Margaret Michilak focused on her serves, and cranked up her power over the course of the match. MeMe Lawrence who loves to push our offense, ran a combination play to perfection, with Erin impressing the fans with a quick kill from the middle. Serina Kaasik continues to become more and more confident, spelling MeMe and Kenna in the front row, and scoring an assist.
It was reassuring to see the team have confidence in one another to rise to the challenge. It was especially great to see the team focus and keep the pressure on throughout the third set. The match was a sweep for the Blue and Gray: 25-17, 25-16, and 25-8. The team’s record is now 9-0, with 3 league games left in the season.
The JV played well against Port Jeff, but dropped the match in straight sets, 15-25, 23-25 and 14-25. They are 5-6 on the season with three remaining.
The teams will play Ross on October 22 (after press time) and will travel to Greenport on the 24th to face a fast-improving Porters squad.
The final regular season match, along with our senior send-off, will be home on Monday, October 28.