Shorthanded but not short on fight: Shelter Island volleyball teams meeting challenges

After the quiet start to the month, the Shelter Island volleyball teams were back in action this past week.

As regular readers know, the Islanders’ rosters are limited. When dual athletes have competing contests or injuries thin our ranks, we need our versatile players to be flexible and play other positions.

Or in the case of two matches this past week, ask a junior varsity player to step up and fill in at varsity. Both scenarios were in effect this week as JV faced three opponents and the varsity played two. 

JUNIOR VARSITY

Monday, Oct. 7, the JV team traveled to Smithtown Christian.

The Knights have a JV-only program, which means they have lots of athletes, and some who are juniors and seniors. The long bus ride lulled the athletes into a slow start.

After the first two sets they began executing their serves and playing the ball better, but they dropped the match. However, playing sports is more than just about the score, and a stop at Shake Shack on the way home revived spirits.

The next day the Pierson Whalers visited the Island. Due to Juliana Medina’s need to play with varsity as well as other conflicts, the JV squad had just six players available.

Sadie Green-Clark heeded the “Let’s go, Sadie!” cheers from the varsity team in the stands, scoring with a great dump, and following up with an ace.

Lily Brigham, who normally plays libero, had a chance to play the full six positions. Maeve Springer is an observant player, and went up on a block to challenge the Whalers, a skill she’s increasingly employed in the second half of the season. Lexi Bartilucci tracks the ball exceptionally well, and her excellent coverage on a ball tipped behind the block was another example of the growth of the team.

Kylie Kuhr serves well and is a whirling dervish on the court. A nice pass from Bartilucci allowed her to set up Natalie Mamisashvili who is swinging with more confidence.

All players got lots of playing time, but the lack of substitutions made it difficult to give anyone a breather, and Pierson took the match.

At Mattituck on Thursday, Oct. 10, the JV was once again without the steady playing of Medina. After an extremely slow start, the squad bounced back to play competitively. Lily Potter made some good plays at the net, but the highlight of the day was Makayla Cronin’s serving.

As the ball soared to the other side of the net, a huge cheer erupted from the team, and she got to check off a confidence-enhancing personal goal.

VARSITY

Mid-season the varsity team has had to deal with some injuries, causing us to rely on JV subs, versatility and grit. Lauren Gibbs had to sit out both of the week’s matches, but luckily Juliana Medina was able to step in for us as middle hitter.

On Tuesday, Oct. 8 the Pierson Whalers came to town. We knew that our squads were fairly evenly matched; however in September, Pierson was able to string multiple serves on us. We’ve worked hard on serve receive and it paid off handsomely for us.

Team cohesiveness was high and when Dariana Duran started the match with a service ace we knew that we were prepared to fight. We traded points until 9-9, when Mae Brigham blocked an overpass for a point and sent her to the service line.

She served the next 11 points, scoring 4 aces while her teammates’ heads-up defense frustrated Pierson.

Pierson finally re-gained the serve and got a little momentum before another Duran ace put the Islanders up to 24. Just a moment later we had the set victory, 25-19, a fabulous confirmation that hard work and focus is paying off.

The second set Pierson jumped out to a 1-7 lead and the Islanders seemed a little out of sorts. However, we quickly got back on track, pulling to 8-9. Unfortunately, seven missed serves stalled the momentum and Pierson took the second set 25-17.

The third set we started to show how our work on offense is beginning to pay off. Quinn Sobejana was all over the court on defense and serve receive, getting the ball to the setter.

Miranda Marcello was on fire with her hits, getting 4 points in one stretch with her hard and well-placed hits. Elliot Schack also got on the board with some tricky tips, scoring three kills for the match. Pierson was able to hold on to win the third set 25-22, with six missed serves by the Islanders.

In the fourth set, Paulina Nava proved to be an excellent defensive player for us, making some nice digs off Pierson’s hits. Johanna Kaasik put up some nice sets, and also added points by using setter dumps, pushing the ball to undefended spots on the Whalers’ court.

Pierson ended up taking the match 3 sets to 1, but the Islanders played their best ball of the season to date and it was a huge confidence boost. We have proof that our tenacity is paying off.

On Thursday, Oct.10 the teams traveled to Mattituck. Once again the varsity team was shorthanded. With both Gibbs and Sobejana on injured reserve, we shifted lineups yet again. I was unable to attend the match, so Coach Sweeney had my game plan and counted on the team to execute it.

Juliana Medina stepped in ably at middle hitter, a role she has now reprised multiple times at the varsity level. Lili Kuhr normally is a serving and defensive specialist. Against the Tuckers she wore the different colored jersey which marked her as the libero. During the Eastport South Manor tournament Kuhr had done time as libero, so it wasn’t her first rodeo, but she got to play a larger role than usual.

Unfortunately, multiple missed serves once again were a problem throughout the match. While the teams played relatively evenly once the ball was underway, the missed chances to run any strings of points proved to be impossible to overcome.

However, by all accounts the team remained positive and supportive of one another, a terrific sign of a maturing squad.

COMING UP

Thursday, Oct. 17, will be Island volleyball’s annual Dig Pink fundraiser to support breast cancer research. The team will be decorating the gym, selling concessions, shirts, and bracelets as well as selling paper ribbons that people can buy to honor family and friends. All funds raised are donated to the Sideout Foundation (//side-out.org/dig-pink/) to fund breast cancer research.

We will be playing Southampton. The JV match starts at 4 p.m., with the varsity following at approximately 6 P.M. You won’t want to miss the pre-game announcements.

Saturday, Oct. 19 will be a pivotal game for us. The Ross School, the league’s other Class D opponent, will be visiting that morning. We went 2-3 against them on their home court, playing evenly but losing the match. Their coach has a way of making adjustments and improving their game play through the season, just as the Islanders have.

It will be a determined, hard fight to see who might emerge as contenders for the Class D crown. The game starts at 10:45 a.m.

Come cheer on your local athletes!