Gaining confidence and bringing the energy: Shelter Island volleyball season is under way

On Monday, Aug. 26, I greeted Athletic Director Todd Gulluscio with an a cappella rendition of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” It was the first day of fall sports and a new volleyball season was about to begin.

Fast forward just eight days and Coach Kristin Sweeney had the young junior varsity squad ready for their first match against Our Savior New American School, a team new to our league. Our team had just seven athletes eligible to play, and only one, Sadie-Green Clark, had experience at the high school level. Juliana Medina, another sophomore, would join the team at the end of the next week since she completed enough practices to compete.

Six of the remaining players are veterans of Coach Sweeney’s Junior High program. Maeve Springer has transferred to Shelter Island from Our Lady of the Hamptons and brings a nice set of volleyball skills with her. The team was a little nervous in their first outing, but I was impressed with their emerging skills and ability to shake off any mistakes, refocus, and continue to play.

The Islanders won the first set 26 to 24. Our Savior won the next set 25-15, and in the tie-breaking third, Shelter Island just couldn’t put enough serves together to win the match.

Despite the outcome, they gained confidence, and brought great energy to the court the next day. The first day of school, Wednesday, Sept. 4, was the second consecutive game day for the JV squad as they faced the strong Center Moriches Red Devils.

JV squads face the uphill battle of not only facing stronger teams but also incorporating higher level team tactics into their skill set. Coach Sweeney and I were extremely impressed at the confidence and improved team play from just the previous day. The squad assertively switched to their base positions and showed much better decision making about knowing whose ball is whose.

Kylie Kuhr Leonard and Lexi Bartilucci both have strong serves and also acted as setters for the match. They chased down balls and made several nice saves in addition to getting their hitters involved on offense. Lily Brigham sported a contrasting gray jersey to her teammates’ blue identifying her as the libero and defensive specialist.

Green-Clark and Lily Potter both played middle hitter and are increasingly confident in playing the position, which is great to see. Maeve Springer is a strong serve and is quite quick-footed. Makayla Cronin is also speedy, and her ability to shake off one bad play to quickly refocus on the next is great to see at such a young age. Natalie Mamisashvili was on the sidelines assisting with stat collection. She is accruing practices and will soon join her teammates in competition.

While Center Moriches won the match, Shelter Island gained an incredible amount of confidence, along with the admiration of their coaches.

Like the JV squad, the varsity team is also relatively young.

With only three returning players it will take time for the new juniors to adjust to the expectations and the speed of the varsity game. However, they are already becoming more confident in their positioning and expected roles. Center Moriches is a strong program. Despite playing evenly with the Red Devils in the first set, it was evident that Shelter Island is still finding its footing as a unified team. However, there were moments of brilliance.

Returning seniors and captains, Dariana Duran Alvarado and Johanna Kaasik provide great leadership on the court. Jo is a setter and her marked increase in confidence in putting up the ball for our hitters is terrific to see. Dari has a great court presence, helping players get to their assigned positions and reminding them of their responsibilities.

Paulina Nava transferred from Pierson this past year. She has a strong serve and very nice skills. Another senior, she will add depth to our squad as she learns the Shelter Island system. Junior Mandy Marcello is a varsity veteran. She has excellent court sense, a tough serve and an aggressive attack.

Quinn Sobejana is quick and fearless at libero, often passing balls to Elliot Schack who quickly sets them up for our hitters. Lauren Gibbs, who can play both middle and outside hitter, showed her versatility and helped set up some impressive blocks as well as hits. Classmate Mae Brigham has nice hands but her height and improving hitting ability make her valuable as a middle hitter as well. Lili Kuhr is warming to the varsity court as a defensive specialist and also sports a strong serve.

Saturday, Sept. 7, Mattituck came to town. The varsity team played well, getting as many attack attempts in the first set as they did during the entire Center Moriches match. With only 8 or 9 athletes per squad, we like to have players cross train in at least two positions to allow flexibility in lineups and in the case of injury. That “be ready” philosophy came in handy in the second set.

Mae Brigham landed awkwardly after a block and had to leave the game to rest her ankle. All players but Paulina Nava had already been on the court and were ineligible to substitute. Nava is normally a defensive specialist or outside hitter but accepted the challenge and went in at middle hitter, a position she has never trained for. Her teammates coached her and play continued. Mattituck went on to win the match, but that can-do attitude is a sign that this squad is willing to work hard to get results. 

The JV squad also played well against the Tuckers, scoring 8 aces and 11 kills during the match. Both Mattituck squads went home with wins, but with the knowledge that the Islanders are an improving team and will strongly challenge them when we see them in the second half of the season.

Keili Osorio Lopez was the JV team manager last season, but she has rejoined as an athlete. We look forward to welcoming her to the court soon. Betzaida Campos and Rosie Hanley have stepped up as managers for the squads. Campos has proven to have a strong arm as she assists at practice, and joins Hanley in collecting stats and assisting at the scoring table.

I always have high expectations of our Shelter Island volleyball program. Although lineups tend to change as players mature and develop skills, I am confident that our goals for the season will remain the same. We strive for progress, not perfection.

We support one another on and off the court. We know hard work leads to results. We believe that long-term gains outweigh any short-term wins. Having fun while gaining confidence and representing the school with pride is the ultimate goal of the Island’s athletic program. I’m excited by the potential of all of these athletes and can’t wait to see what the coming weeks bring.

The teams will be on the road for the next week, with our next home match against the Port Jefferson Royals on Mon, Sept. 23. JV kicks off at 4:30 and varsity at 6:15 p.m. Come support these Islanders, they are fun and inspiring to watch!