Volleyball

Lady Panthers net victory over Lady Bulldogs

Monticello’s athleticism and skills propel volleyball victory over Sullivan West

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — For the Lady Bulldogs of Sullivan West, who are still in search of their first season volleyball win, taking on Monticello at home on September 18 was a daunting task. In fact, for a number of Sullivan West players, Monticello’s reputation as a perennial power went a long way toward convincing them that they didn’t have much chance in the ensuing crossover match.

In sports, mindset is everything, and Sullivan West coach Cliff Kelly and the team’s more veteran players did their best to dispel that sense of imminent defeat.

Despite Monticello’s consecutive victories of 25-11, 25-11 and 25-8, the Lady Bulldogs played hard and had some impressive performances.

Alex Peters had two kills and four points while Brittney Geiger added two kills and three assists. Cara Davis contributed one kill, three blocks and two aces in the losing effort for Sullivan West 0-4 (0-4 OCIAA).

Monticello’s team is extremely athletic and skilled. The Lady Panthers (4-1, 4-1 OCIAA) won the match handily with fine play at the net, exemplified by Pollyanna Palhano and Emily Drobysh. Lori Schnitzer had a pair of aces, 11 points and one kill, while Samantha Schoonmaker pitched in with four aces, nine points and two assists. Eryn Robinson had five aces, eight points and one assist.

Monticello coach Karen Atack kept her team’s victory in perspective. “We still have a lot of work to do,” she said. Atack, a veteran coach, knows how difficult the competition is, particularly when it comes to sectionals. “It’s wide open, and on any given day any team can win. It all depends on who comes out to play,” she said. One area of concern for Atack in this match was her team’s service errors (10). “We spend a half hour every day at practice just on serving,” she said.

Kelly was pleased with his team’s effort. “We did better in the first half of each of the games. I think the girls played hard,” he said.

Tornados swirl back to engulf Sullivan West

During the match against division rival Tuxedo on September 13, the Lady Bulldogs showed fine skills at the net, good passing and the ability to dig out shots near the floor.

In fact, after winning the first game 25-18 handily and bouncing back from a narrow defeat of 25-23 in the second game with a dominant 25-14 win, it seemed as if Sullivan West (0-3, 0-2 OCIAA) would have its first win of the season.

But several problems surfaced in the winning games and worsened as the match progressed. Most glaring was the poor service that sent balls into the net or wide, which turned the ball back to the Lady Tornados a total of eight times over the course of the final two games, both won by Tuxedo by the scores of 25-18 and 25-20.

In addition, Sullivan West will need to improve its sense of territoriality on the court and learn to call for the ball when it is hit between two players.

Despite the loss, Sullivan West is bound to win its share of games. According to Kelly, the team’s losses to Burke and Fallsburg, in particular, were attributable to the aforementioned problems.

Tuxedo came into the game with a lost to Goshen. They beat James I. O’Neill and John S. Burke prior to their comeback victory over Sullivan West.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by the efforts of Peters, who had three kills and two aces, Geiger, who had four kills and three blocks, and Brionna Lovgren, who tallied a total of eight points. Lovgren’s service allowed the Lady Bulldogs to reel off five straight points in its 25-14 win in game three. Four of those came on aces.

Davis did a fine job at the net as did Geiger. Both kept up the flow of returns to Tuxedo.

The Tornados were propelled by Meredith Wolfe, who had four aces, six digs and 12 kills, and Kacey Hallorhan, who recorded six aces, three digs and two kills.