Volleyball blitzkreig: 3 league matches, 3 sweeps
The week of October 17-21 was a busy one for the Shelter Island volleyball teams. Each played three league matches; each swept the opponents. After the action, the JV held a 12-2 record with two matches left. The varsity’s unblemished record was 11-0 with one to go.
JV ACTION
The junior varsity team is starting to really come into its own. With a firm grasp on offensive and defensive systems, individual skills are beginning to shine and the team cohesiveness is quite strong. Their week started against Port Jefferson, the team that had snapped Shelter Island’s beginning of season three-game winning streak. Coach Karen Gibbs emphasized that the last time Port Jeff and Shelter Island met, the blue and grey had really beaten themselves: missed serves and hitting errors had overshadowed the good passing and defensive work.
Revenge for that loss was foremost on their minds as they disembarked the bus on October 18 and the athletes stayed focused on that goal and swept the Royals 25-20, 28-26 and 25-13. As might be guessed by the “extra innings” score, the second set was particularly exciting. TiTi Lawrence, who has emerged as a pivotal all-round player for the squad, got 5 of her 8 kills for the match in that second set.
After beating the home team 25-20 in the first set, Shelter Island again started quickly with a 5-1 lead. However, passing errors let the Royals tie it up 6-6. The two teams seesawed back and forth, getting 3 or 4 points each until a service ace by Port Jeff brought the score to 20-24. One more point and Shelter Island would lose the set and be forced to play a tiebreaker.
Logan Pendergrass dashed the Royals’ hopes with a kill that sent Margaret Michalak to the service line. Keeping her nerves in check and with the assistance of another kill by Pendergrass and T. Lawrence, Margaret served 4 points to pull to 25-24. A well-timed Port Jeff time-out caused her concentration to slip, sending the serve into the net. However, back-to-back missed serves evened the score again at 26-26 before another T. Lawrence kill and a Port Jeff server receive error gave the jubilant Indians the hard fought set, 28-26.
The tension released, the third set was an easy 25-13 win. Kelly Colligan kept the Indians on track with her take-charge passing. MeMe Lawrence seemed to be having fun — she dished out four assists, including one to Taylor Rando who hit a beautiful backset for a kill. Kenna McCarthy returned the favor, setting MeMe for her own backset kill. Sam Capello got into the swing with her tough serves while Libby Liszanckie contributed several nice passes to the effort.
The all-round team effort and victory against Port Jefferson set the stage for two more excellent matches that week: The JV squad also swept the visiting Whalers on October 19, 25-13, 25-19 and 25-23. On October 21, Mercy met the same fate, 25-12, 25-11 and 25-14. Earlier this week, the squad handed Smithtown Christian a loss in the Knights own gym.
On Thursday, October 27, the JV squad will try to avenge an earlier season loss against the Ross Cosmos, the only other league competitor to beat them. A well-coached team, the Cosmos don’t have a varsity squad and it will be a difficult task to unseat them. Come to the gym at 4 p.m. and cheer them on.
VARSITY WINS
The varsity team also had a busy schedule this past week. In contrast to the excitement of the JV victories, the varsity has focused on efficient offense, often overwhelming their competition.
Port Jeff seemed intimidated and uninspired in their 25-9, 25-8, 25-11 loss to the Indians on October 18. The following day, Pierson faced the blue and grey for the first time this season and, despite earnest effort, the Whalers blockers were confused by the quicker Shelter Island offense. The varsity added another notch to their winning streak, 25-6, 25-15, 25-11.
October 21 marked the final home match for the varsity squad and the last ever in the careers of three seniors. Katie Olinkiewicz has been a member of the team for four years, two as a player and the past two as our official scorekeeper.
Both Kelsey McGayhey and Haley Willumsen have been part of the varsity team that has gone without a loss in the league for the past two years and is on the brink of an unprecedented three-peat undefeated league championship. Haley’s setting and Kelsey’s high-flying hits are highlights on a team loaded with talent and pride. Presented with roses and introduced to the home crowd by juniors Saverina Chicka and Jayme Clark, Kelsey and Haley led the team to another victory over Mercy 25-9, 25-15, 25-17.
With one more league match against Pierson on Monday, October 31, the seniors and the team are continuing to focus their efforts on honing their skills for the post-season. With another county championship virtually assured, the road to the state tournament looms. It will be a difficult task to make it back to Glens Falls this year given that the path is through a regional match that will undoubtedly feature Haldane High School of Cold Spring. Haldane is a perennial top team in the Hudson Valley, a very tough and polished opponent that Shelter Island has beaten only once in our five meetings. But we are not intimidated. Check back next week to see how our preparations are going. Go Indians!
