County champs again

Stephanie Vecchio keeps the ball off the floor in the county championship game at Center Moriches last Friday.

Six straight. That’s the number of times Shelter Island volleyball has been county champs. On Friday, November 6, the undefeated League 8 champs tacked another honor on the season: Suffolk County and Section 11 Class D Champions.


Considering that the top three teams in the league were Class D, besting the larger schools was no mean feat. Both Stony Brook and Pierson qualified for the playoffs, and they were gunning to break the blue and grey’s reign. But this year’s Indian team has too much heart and firepower for that, so despite taking one set of the match, second-seeded Stony Brook had to settle for runner-up following a 25-10, 23-25, 25-14, 25-14 Shelter Island victory.


After the formalities of introducing the teams and the Pledge of Allegiance, the match began in the neutral Center Moriches gym. The first point showcased Stephanie Vecchio hitting a ball hard off a double block to start the match. Mackenzie Needham smacked an overpass down for 1 point, then tipped the very next ball to the floor just out of the reach of the Bears’ defenders.


Shelter Island jumped out to a comfortable 12-2 lead before the Bears put together a 6-point run of their own, mainly on strong serving, to close the gap. A bit chastened, the blue and grey settled down a bit, and Shelby Willumsen strung seven serves together to put the game out of reach.


As the second set started, a bus full of Stony Brook fans arrived. Their loud support seemed to rattle the Indians a bit, and the Bears pulled out to a 7-3 lead before a back-row hit from Haley Willumsen stopped the slide. But Stony Brook wasn’t finished, and their scrambling defense aided by several Indian hitting errors put them ahead 23-17. After a timeout to focus their efforts, the blue and grey took it one point at a time, pulling to 23-24, but another missed hit let Stony Brook grab the second set.


In past meetings with the Bears, we had taken the first two games before mixing up the lineups. This time they had beaten the starting six. This was serious. Their work cut out for them, the Indians took the court with new purpose. Haley Willumsen, whose aggressive serving often starts us off with a bit of a cushion, cranked up her serve, which in turn inspired our hitting.


The defense also got into the act, with Needham making a diving save that allowed Claire Read to set Kelsey McGayhey for one of her trademark crushing lefty kills. Shelby Willumsen had the defensive play of the game, with a full-out sprawl on the floor to just get her arm under the ball, allowing Shelter Island to pull to 19-12. 


Haley Willumsen strung five more serves, accumulating several more aces to add to her total of 14 for the match. Lisa Rasmussen, whose passing has improved dramatically over the season, also stepped to the back line to assist in the 25-14 victory.


Taking nothing for granted, the fourth set was played with good intensity. Behind the hitting of middles McGayhey and Vecchio, and the blocking efforts of Rachael Heinze, the blue and grey controlled the net. Dana Ramos and Mariah Jacobs each chalked up a couple of digs for blue and grey as well. Never trailing in the final set, Shelter Island ended Stony Brook’s season with a 25-14 win and gained themselves another county championship.


As sectional and county champs, Shelter Island is now poised to face Haldane High School at the Southeastern NY Regional Championship at 4 p.m. on Friday November 13 at Bellport High School. State champs in 2007, the Blue Devils from Westchester County have a long history of a very strong volleyball program. The two teams have met four times before with Haldane coming out on top each time. 


Will that intimidate this year’s Shelter Island squad? Not likely. They are determined to qualify for the state championship at Glens Falls on the weekend of November 21. The regionals should be quite a match. If you haven’t seen the girls in action this year you need to make the trip. We need your support. A fan bus will be headed out from the school on Friday. Don’t miss it.