Shelter Island Middle School volleyball team bouncing back

Following the Thanksgiving break, the Shelter Island middle school volleyball team is back in action.

After dropping a match against Southold White on Dec. 6, the team bounced back with a dominant win and sweep of Mattituck Gold on Dec. 10 in front of an appreciative home crowd.

With Emily Shepherd now qualified to play, the team is at full strength with eight players. The team’s strong serving is very noticeable. Every one of the players got at least one serve over, with five different players scoring aces.

Another nice note was seeing Eliza McCarthy in the contrasting gray jersey, marking her as the libero, a specialized position that focuses on passing. McCarthy’s quick feet and willingness to go to the floor as necessary makes her a very good fit to this position.

Often liberos are not introduced until the junior varsity level, but Coach Sweeney is very pleased at the enthusiasm of this team and willingness to try something new. This involves learning the difference between a libero exchange and a regular substitution, and the subtleties and rules for each.

The Islanders got a quick start to the match with Michelle Martinez putting two serves over in a row to build a 6-2 lead. Alice Potter showed her willingness to go after tough balls as she hustled after a short serve to the sideline.

Emily Shepherd literally got into the swing of things as she attacked a nice set. Elizabeth Weslek sent over several tricky tips for points, and also closed out the set with 4 consecutive aces to win the set 25-13.

The second set was dominated by excellent serving by the Islanders. Ella Fundora served 13 in a row, ending the day with 23 aces. However, the team also focused on using three hits and making plays. Regina Kolmogrova-Weisenberg made a nice pass to Weslek, who got it to Jayla Jones for a kill.

Kolmogrova-Weisenberg also started off a nice play where Fundora set Martinez who jumped high for a great swing and kill. The match win was guaranteed as the Blue and Gray won the second set 25-10.

The third set was more evenly played. Once again several three-hit combinations were successful. Potter passed the ball to Fundora, with Jones getting the point. Martinez popped up a pass with Shepherd showing her nice hands to set Fundora. McCarthy got the ball to Weslek for another Martinez hit. Fundora capped off the night with 8 consecutive serves, 25-17.

Coach Sweeney is proud of her team’s progress. “We have been focusing on the pass-set-hit sequence and also introducing blocking. They are really working toward a being a complete team,” the coach said.

I agree, as a coach, that it’s great to see so many versatile athletes willing to step up to do what is needed, whenever it is needed.

With college teams competing for national championships at this time of year, it’s exciting to think about how each of those athletes started their journey as a young player who loved the game.

You don’t have to go far to see that enthusiasm: Come to the next home game on tomorrow, Dec. 18 against the Greenport Gold team at 4 p.m.

Following the Christmas break the team will play their final home games on Monday, Jan. 6 and Wednesday, Jan. 8.