Shelter Island volleyball team getting ready for the finals

Suffolk County championships here we come!

With Section XI league play ending on Oct. 19, The Shelter Island volleyball team has had two weeks off from matches as we prepare to face the Ross School in the Class D County finals on Monday, Nov. 7.

The battle between our two very evenly matched teams will take place at East Hampton High School at 4 p.m. Should the Islanders be successful, we’ll travel on Wednesday Nov. 9 all the way up along the Hudson to Bard College for the New York Southeast Regional semi-finals.

The team is keeping their skills sharp while learning some alternative lineups, introducing some fun higher-level moves, and taking advantage of this lower pressure time to do a little team bonding.

Some of the more confident JV players are attending practices to help make scrimmage situations more realistic. Meanwhile, we’re also breaking out “Sasha,” the serving machine to help practice receiving Ross’s high velocity serves.

A day of “pizza and play” was fun to mix-up the JV and varsity squads and share some favorite memories.

Last year the county title match was a hotly contested back-and-forth affair, and I expect this year’s to be nothing less.

Come support your Islanders as we vie for the championship and the right to continue in the post season!

Again, the match against Ross will be Monday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. at the East Hampton High School gymnasium and requires a ticket for entry.

It’s suggested that tickets be purchased in advance digitally since there are no cash options to purchase tickets at the gate.

The website for the tickets is: https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAAXI