Volleyball

At last!

Fallsburg gets first volleyball win in recent memory in hard-fought league match with Sullivan West

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — “All things come to (s)he who waits,” goes the saying. But when it comes to getting a long-awaited win in volleyball, one must add “and to she who dives for balls, makes better passes, makes fewer service errors and ultimately wants it more.”

In the league match between host Sullivan West and Fallsburg on September 17, those attributes were best demonstrated by the Lady Comets, who came away with their first win since coach Andrea Millas took over the coaching reins last season. The volleyball drought preceded Millas’ tenure.

“I’m so excited,” said the exuberant coach, following the four-set league win over Sullivan West, a hotly contested match that replaced prior one-sided Westies’ dominance in past matches between the two schools.

“Last year, I don’t think we even won a set,” said Millas, whose girls have been working hard, often against Class A schools. In a week that saw Livingston Manor/Roscoe gets its first-ever win in football, something is clearly changing in the sports universe in Sullivan County.

Sullivan West came in with one win under its belt, a season-opening division victory over Tuxedo. The team fought valiantly in a near all-nighter against Burke, another division rival. That match went five sets and a 25-21 score decided every game.

Non-divisional losses to Monticello, Cornwall and Goshen were understandable for Sullivan West. Coach Cliff Kelly would like to build a stronger program of off-season play but to date, interest hasn’t been forthcoming.

Last year, Sullivan West made it to sectionals and beat Tuxedo in the first round before losing to powerful Rhinebeck. A significant number of Kelly’s stars are gone now, including Samantha VanDiver who transferred, and others who graduated, like Brittney Gieger and Cara Davies, to name a few.

Fallsburg lost to Monticello, Port Jervis, Tuxedo and O’Neill. But the varsity Lady Comets seemed upbeat as they prepared for the match.

Fallsburg got out to an early lead with Jamie Parker serving, but service errors were prevalent on both sides. For Sullivan West, that was a departure from its normally consistent service.” When they first missed,” said Millas “I was surprised. They don’t usually make many service errors.”

As Kelly would later point out, volleyball is a game of runs. “You’ve got to break their serve,” something Sullivan West’s was not able to consistently do in the match. Fallsburg won the first set 25-18 but the momentum switched back to Sullivan West in set number two.

Behind the service of Amanda Kehrley, Sullivan West leaped out to a 16-0 lead. Fallsburg got some nice play at the net during this stretch from Bryanna Kolja and Stefanie Benjamin but the Dawgs rolled on.

Sullivan West got strong net play by senior Morgan Pretty and won the set 25-12.

Sullivan West looked to put the hammer down early in set number three with Allesandra Imbesi serving an opening ace. But the early 2-0 Bulldogs’ lead soon vanished as Daniela Gonzalez took over the service for the Lady Comets who tied it up. With Amanda McGibbon serving, Sullivan West took a 10-4 lead but poor passing defined much of Sullivan West’s play as it failed to get a good first touch on the ball to set up a hard shot.

Behind Kolja’s fine service run and a great diving save, Fallsburg roared back to tie it at 13.

After ties at 16 and 22, Sullivan West got the lead but couldn’t hold it. The Comets tied it at 23 and won 25-23 with Kolja serving. Fallsburg now led the match 2-1.

Set four was very close with numerous ties at two, four, five, six, seven, nine, 11, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. Just like the prior set, it was Fallsburg that came up with the final two points for the 25-23 win.

The Lady Comets leaped for joy as they tried to take in their first victory.

Millas noted that her players are finally beginning to know their positions and are starting to “play smart.”

Kelly credited Fallsburg. “They worked hard and they deserved to win. They were out there diving for balls. These were two equally matched teams but they wanted it more,” said Kelly. “We made a lot of service errors today. When you have a combination of poor passing and poor service, you’re going to lose.” He vowed his team would continue to work on those skills in practice. Sullivan West prepared to face O’Neill while the Lady Comets braced for powerful Goshen.

Both teams now have overall records of 1-5. Sullivan West is 1-2 in division play. Fallsburg is 1-1.

Fallsburg’s top performers: Daniela Gonzalez, 13 points, two kills and five assists; Bryanna Kolja, 13 points, three kills and five aces; Stefanie Benjamin, six kills and six digs.

Sullivan West’s top performers: Morgan Pretty, four kills, two digs and two blocks; Jackie Parsons, 10 points, four kills and one block.

Visit riverreportersports.com for more game details and an album of pictures.