On the road with Shelter Island’s volleyball team

The yellow school bus was ready and waiting in front of the Shelter Island School last Thursday afternoon in bright autumn sunshine. By a quarter after one, the Indians’ varsity volleyball team was on its way to the state quarterfinals.

The games, three in all, were to be played at the Half Hollow Hills West School in Dix Hills, an hour and a half away and “a neutral site.” Their opposition, about whom the team knew little, would be the S. S. Seward Spartans, who had traveled even further, from Florida, New York, located between the  Palisades and Port Jervis.

The mood on the Indians bus was upbeat and tense in the ways that girls can be tense — voices just a tad louder, pitch just a tad higher and far more laughter than usual. But they had a lot to say and little disagreement.

When asked how much they cared about winning, there was no “It’s really how you play the game” sentiment here.

Kelsey McGayhey: “I care a lot about winning, not only to go to states but I like how we all work together and all pull together and the results are basically good.”

Mackenzie Needham: “I think we really deserve to win, hopefully we can make it to the second day [of the state tournament] this year.”

Stephanie Vecchio: “I care a lot about winning, and that my team is strong enough to make it to states and I’m very proud of them.”

Katy Binder: “Winning is really nice. Now and then we’re gonna lose but we have to move on and keep going.”

Saverina Chicka: “I care about winning. We come from a very small Island and we’re going to go and show them that talent comes from everywhere.”

How nervous were they? There was a lot of laughter and the girls did not want to be quoted about their excitement and trepidations.

“Well, last night when I was going to bed, I was thinking about the game and how nervous I am but now that it’s upon me I’m kind of more pumped up than nervous.”

“I’m nervous about every game we play but I feel like the only way to accomplish what we really want to do is to face our fear and try to do the best we can.”

“Not exactly nervous, just excited about the fact that we got this far and how we all pull together.”

“I’m a very nervous person always and when it comes to sports I’m even more nervous but it’s always good to turn that nervous feeling into positive and pumped up energy so, yeah!!!”

How did they feel about the crowds at the games? What kind of pressure was that?

Saverina: “I guess when my mom and my grampa and my family comes to watch me play, it makes me feel like they’re coming to watch me, so I try harder to do better, I’m really happy when they come. Thanks, Mom.”

Anonymous: “I really like when the community shows up and my family comes to cheer me on, it gets me even more pumped when we have a big crowd. I like pressure actually, I think I do better under pressure so I think it’s great when parents and the community show up at games, it helps us a lot.”

Anonymous: “My parents go to every single game and I’ve learned over the past few years that my parents have been completely loud and I’ve learned to block it out, that’s what I’ve done.”

Stephanie: “I think it’s very important that my parents come because it shows that they really care about me and it pushes me to do better.”

Coach Cindy Belt, when asked about the team, had this to say: “This year’s 2010 team, we’ve got some very talented athletes, probably the most physically gifted team Shelter Island has ever had. They work together really well and we’re running a lot more sophisticated offenses, so we can run different plays. We practice five or six days a week and that’s been since the end of August.

“They’re a good group of kids, tend to get along pretty well, there’s always some friction here or there but, for the most part, they understand that volleyball is really the ultimate team sport. It’s not like basketball where one kid can dominate from one end to the other. You can’t do that in volleyball.

“Three of our players are seniors; Stephanie, Mackenzie and Dana [Ramos], all three have played four years. Next year we have our two juniors and they’re very strong, and a bunch of sophomores; they just moved up from JV so they’re still young and learning but they’re tall and enthusiastic so that bodes really well. There’s talent moving up, every year it’s a new mix so we’ll see what happens.

“If we win today? We win the Southeastern NY regional championship, which is actually the state quarter finals, which would qualify us for what we call ‘states,’ in Glens Falls, on November 20 and 21, and four teams qualify out of the whole state. The final four compete to see who plays in the finals on Sunday. Whoever wins that is state champion. It’s really exciting. If we lose today? We hug each other, have a party and move on.”

At the regional match, the Shelter Island stands were more than half filled with parents and grandparents who’d driven to Dix Hills on their own and students who’d ridden the second bus from the school. Stephanie Vecchio’s grandmother, Pat Zielinski, laughing, seemed to express the majority sentiment when she said, “We’re already packed for Glens Falls, so we better be winning today. Good luck to the team and of course to my granddaughter.”

After 25-7, 25-9 and another 25-7, a team that played with calm discipline, kept its cool and put the skills they’d acquired to good use, was planning on a busy few days next weekend. Go, Indians!

Cheer for hometown team at state championships

Come cheer on the undefeated Indians this weekend as they compete in the New York State Volleyball Championships.

Where: Glens Falls Civic Center
1 Civic Center Plaza

Cost: $8 (kids under five free)

When: Games start at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, November 20; winners advance to Sunday finals