The volleyball team solidified its second place standing in League VIII with a dominating 3-0 win over Port Jeff this afternoon 25-15, 25-9, 25-19. It was a strong showing after the girls dropped a close match to league leader Shelter Island on Monday.

1st Set

Port Jeff grabbed an early 6-3 lead after several errors by the Bear defense. Freshman Sydney Braat righted the ship, serving us back into the game with four straight points. Our serving continued to keep our heads above water in the opening game as Braat, Christine Boss, and Emily Stone helped build a 15-11 margin. Better communication and a little help from the “7th man” (the iron girders that line the gym ceiling), allowed the girls to build a commanding 22-13 lead. Boss served out the rest of the first set to grab a sloppy victory. | 25-15

2nd Set

The girls exhibited their true identity in the second set, dominating the Royals from beginning to end. They began the game with four straight points and, from there, defensive errors by Port Jeff and kills by Boss, Emma Moley, and Rocio Larraguibel enabled the Brook to build an insurmountable lead. Natalie Istrati served out the game with two of Stony Brook’s six aces that game. | 25-9

3rd Set

The Bears began the third set in much the same way they began the first. They fell behind 1-3 in the early going, but clawed back to tie it at 9-9. A kill by Istrati gave the Brook a 10-9 lead and the serve of Jess Winston helped the Bears burgeon that lead to 13-9. Two straight aces by Moley gave the Blue and White a 19-12 lead and a few points later the Brook held serve with a 21-14 lead. To Port Jeff’s credit they did not go quietly and mounted a valiant comeback, but the Brook eventually prevailed. | 25-19

Impressions

Our size and strength proved to be the difference vs. a gritty but inexperienced Port Jeff team. “Twin Towers” Boss and Istrati were a formidable twosome up front and invited a number of errors by merit of their stature alone. The Royals should not have scored as much against us as they did in the bookend games, but the Brook had enough in them to gut out the wins. Our defense looked sharper than our offense as Stone, Winston, and others made a number of great digs to extend rallies. However, the Blue and White will need to communicate a bit better and handle careens off the ceiling with more dexterity when Shelter Island comes to town in a little over two weeks, but it is obvious we have enough talent to go places this year.

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