Mattituck’s Brynn Gardner tries getting past Center Moriches defender Isabella Reed. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)
Regardless of what transpires the remainder of this high school girls lacrosse season, Mattituck/Southold will be the defending New York State Class D champion in 2022. That’s not a bold prediction, either. It’s a virtual guarantee, just another one of the oddities of the pandemic-affected sports world.
All of the state’s spring sports championships have been canceled this year. That means the Tuckers could go winless this season and still be the two-time defending state champions in 2022.
Coronavirus has done some funny things with the sports calendar and timelines. When the Tuckers walked onto their field in Cutchogue Tuesday, it was for their first game in 696 days.
Seniors Ashley Young (1) and Sam McNamara (22) joined by Rylie Rittberg (4) and Sage Foster (7).
The shirts that the Mattituck High School girls volleyball players wear during warmups are unorthodox. They are T-shirts with the words “Cool Cats & Kittens” emblazoned on them along with renderings of various types of cats, big and small.
The shirts caught the eyes of the Tuckers while shopping together after going out to dinner one evening. They became a symbol of unity.
Now there is little question that the Tuckers are among the coolest cats in the county. With big performances from their Big Three of Sage Foster, Ashley Young and Bridget Ryan, the top-seeded Tuckers rolled to the Suffolk County Class C championship Saturday with a 25-13, 25-18, 25-21 defeat of Babylon at Mattituck High School. It’s Mattituck’s ninth county title overall and eighth in 19 years.
The 2021 Shelter Island varsity volleyball team. Front row, from left, seniors Emma Martinez, Lydia Shepherd, Jane Richards and Grace Olinkiewicz. Back row, from left, Angelina Rice, Myla Dougherty, Bella Springer, Lily Page, Franny Regan, Valeria Reyes, Dayla Reyes, Izzy Fonseca and Coach Cindy Belt. (Credit: Theo Olinkiewicz)
Shelter Island Volleyball, spring 2021, had a season like no other.
We started practice on Monday, March 1, over six months later than the usual fall start. The varsity squad finished their fast and furious season on Friday, April 16.
During that time we often played or practiced six days a week. Every Monday, all players and coaches were tested for COVID. Each time we entered the gym temperatures were taken and self-certification health forms signed. Masks were worn and physical contact discouraged.
Mattituck’s Ashley Young pushes the ball over the net, surprising her opponent and scoring a point. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)
It’s a volleyball question for which there may be no simple answer: Who benefits more in a setter/hitter relationship?
Perhaps there isn’t an either/or answer. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
Behind the hitter who wows the crowd with a thunderous kill is a setter who directed the ball in the right place. Neither can get the desired result without the other.
“The hitter always looks good,” Mattituck coach Frank Massa said. “They look good whipping shots over the net and making that loud sound coming off the floor or somebody’s arm, and the setter is the one that set the plate on that one, putting it on a tee.
Girls Volleyball: Tuckers, now 8-1, take winning approach to compressed season timesreview.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesreview.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.