As Tuesday afternoon turned into Tuesday evening, the volleyball team found itself locked in a tightly contested match with visiting Mercy. The team’s first playoff appearance since 2014 was on the line as the Bears and Monarchs moved to a decisive fifth set after splitting the first four. However, the Bears lost a key starter who injured herself on the final point of the fourth game loss, meaning they would have to rally together and find a way to win.

Their response was inspiring and showed evidence of their resilience as a squad as well as the leadership of head coach Stan Winston. The Bears took an early lead and never looked back, taking the set, 25-17, to win the match, 3-2, and earn a place in the Suffolk County Class C Tournament.

The Bears won the opening set 26-24 thanks to consecutive aces from Margaret Rudzitis who ended the 24-24 stalemate after Mercy climbed back from a late deficit. The Monarchs rebounded to take set two, 14-25, but the girls put themselves in a position to win by taking set three, 25-18. The Bears took an early lead in the fourth game, but Mercy battled back to take the set, 25-23, setting up the fifth and final round.

Sydnie Beausoleil led the way with 8 aces while Lois Ezi and Sammy Petersen anchored the offense with 11 kills and 26 assists, respectively.

The Bears have two regular season games remaining, today at Greenport and Tuesday at Port Jeff, which will decide playoff seeding. One more victory and the Bears will earn their first winning record since 2013.

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