Year in Review: Volleyball team showed grit and fire in 2016

Many people know that Shelter Island School volleyball team’s mantra is “Play well and have fun.”

This year we made an addendum: “Get better every day.”

At the start of the 2016 season, junior varsity Coach Jim Theinert and I knew we had a young team. Ten of the 17 athletes were playing high school volleyball for the first time. Six of the nine varsity players were seniors, but two were brand new to the game.

This was also a year of injuries. Melissa Frasco, our high energy libero and only returning varsity player, sprained one ankle in pre-season, and once that healed she injured the other during the second match of the season. Nichole Hand sprained an ankle in practice the very next day. Julia Labrozzi badly bruised her hitting hand in the following match. Senior Amira Lawrence, who had been our statistician for most of the season, received her medical clearance just in time for the final league game of the season.

But we were gritty, with several athletes switching positions to allow us to field a competitive team in each match. We were a fairly strong serving team, with many players increasing both their speed and accuracy over time.

Our offense took some time to gain steam, but the number of kills increased steadily over the season. Our overall record was 3-7, but many matches were quite close and we did win sets against every league opponent we faced.

The highlight of the season was our “Dig Pink” victory over Port Jefferson. In our first meeting we had come back from the very edge of elimination to force a five-set decision. The Royals won by the skin of their teeth, but when they entered the pink-themed gym for our annual breast cancer awareness fundraiser, the tables were turned. Vocal fans, excellent defense and intense team work helped push us to victory over the playoff-bound team.

That victory, along with the return of Lawrence, helped convince League VIII that we deserved to represent Suffolk County as the Class D champions in the New York State Regional semi-final. Despite the loss to Tuxedo, who ended up at the state Final Four, we can proudly claim to have made the playoffs for 13 straight seasons.

We will miss our seniors: Captains Melissa Frasco and Julia Labrozzi, Nicolette Frasco, Domily Gil, Amira Lawrence, Genesis Urbaez, and Olivia Yeaman. Sarah Lewis, Phoebe Starzee and Nichole Hand will be called upon to lead another young team next year.

Did we play well, get better every day and have fun? Absolutely. As I told the team many times: I am very proud to coach Shelter Island volleyball.

Thanks for the memories of 2016!