Lady Tigers’ Smile Is Short-Lived
Connetquot 3, Northport 1 | Sam Breidenbach reached above the net and swatted a sharp kill to save the Northport girls volleyball team from defeat for at least another point, late in the fourth game against Connetquot, Monday evening. Then the sophomore middle hitter turned to senior setter Kate Kelly and let out a carefree little grin.
The Lady Tigers were down 22-24, trying to rally back after squandering a 25-11 win in the opening game. They dropped the second and third games, 22-25 and 16-25 and led 12-8 in the fourth game before falling behind 15-16.
The singular, momentary joy faded as senior Julie Long pushed a serve a few inches out of bounds, along the right sideline. The miss sealed the victory for Connetquot, 3-1.
“We have a tough time handling a team that can mentally take us out of games, it’s our weakness,” Yarusso said. “[Connetquot is] a great team, it’s nice to play a team like that this late in the season, it gets us ready for playoffs.”
The Lady Tigers stormed through the opening game, finally dominating the Thunderbirds (5-1 in League II, 11-1 overall), who have been an oppressive nemesis for the last three years. A year ago, the Lady Tigers (6-2; 7-2) lost to them in an epic five-set battle and again earlier this year, 3 games to 1.
“We were focused,” Yarusso said. “Then we got mentally unfocused.”
The Lady Tigers committed six service errors and two net violations in the final game, points that proved costly.
“They kind of beat themselves a little bit,” Yarusso said. “If we had just gone up and played volleyball, we wouldn’t have had as many unforced errors.”
The young Breidenbach, who finished with a career-high 9 kills and 7 blocks, put a spark into the senior-laden Lady Tigers after falling into a swoon of stress, self-doubt and unforced errors. She and her sister Brit, a senior, helped propel the Lady Tigers’ rally.
“We had some good things happen today,” Yarusso said. “We had our sophomore middle, Sam Breidenbach who has the game of her life, because she just doesn’t care [about making mistakes]. ”
Brit made a kill and Sam made a block to cut the Connetquot lead to 3. A net violation by the Thunderbirds made the gap 21-23. Maureen McLaughlin fired a kill to put Connetquot ahead, 21-24. Sam responded with a smiling winner of her own. Then came Long, usually a reliable server, and the miss.
“She’s a perfectionist,” Yarusso said. “She’s a perfectionist in school. She’s a perfectionist everywhere. If I were to bet my life on somebody serving, it would be her. It’s good that she did it now, in a league game, rather than in the playoffs.”
Lady Tigers Live On Defense
The Northport girls soccer team came through its most difficult stretch of the regular season, last week, winning three games in consecutive days. The Lady Tigers (6-0-1 in League II) defeated Lindenhurst 2-1 on Thursday, Commack 1-0 on Friday and Ward Melville 1-0 on Saturday.
Defense and a deep roster have been the keys to the Lady Tigers’ success. So far, this season, they have allowed only five goals while recording six shutouts. The team is so rich with talent that Coach Tom Fazio runs a rotation of 17 players during games, including the goaltenders — senior Pam Monnier and sophomore Meredith McGuire.
“All these players are really strong,” Fazio said. “The only thing that’s hard about it is that it doesn’t give players time to get a rhythm…. They’re playing and then they stop… But when you have that many players, the difference is so miniscule, how do you decide who’s going to play and who is going to sit?”
A stressful moment for Coach Anthony Yarusso, whose Lady Tigers volleyball team lost to Connetquot on Monday, 3 games to 1.
Sophomore middle hitter Sam Breidenbach, who finished with a career-high 9 kills and 7 blocks for the Lady Tigers.
Northport senior Laura Guilfoy (No. 4, center) puts a shot past a pair of Connetquot players.
Record Photos/Michael R. Sisak
The Lady Tigers were down 22-24, trying to rally back after squandering a 25-11 win in the opening game. They dropped the second and third games, 22-25 and 16-25 and led 12-8 in the fourth game before falling behind 15-16.
The singular, momentary joy faded as senior Julie Long pushed a serve a few inches out of bounds, along the right sideline. The miss sealed the victory for Connetquot, 3-1.
“We have a tough time handling a team that can mentally take us out of games, it’s our weakness,” Yarusso said. “[Connetquot is] a great team, it’s nice to play a team like that this late in the season, it gets us ready for playoffs.”
The Lady Tigers stormed through the opening game, finally dominating the Thunderbirds (5-1 in League II, 11-1 overall), who have been an oppressive nemesis for the last three years. A year ago, the Lady Tigers (6-2; 7-2) lost to them in an epic five-set battle and again earlier this year, 3 games to 1.
“We were focused,” Yarusso said. “Then we got mentally unfocused.”
The Lady Tigers committed six service errors and two net violations in the final game, points that proved costly.
“They kind of beat themselves a little bit,” Yarusso said. “If we had just gone up and played volleyball, we wouldn’t have had as many unforced errors.”
The young Breidenbach, who finished with a career-high 9 kills and 7 blocks, put a spark into the senior-laden Lady Tigers after falling into a swoon of stress, self-doubt and unforced errors. She and her sister Brit, a senior, helped propel the Lady Tigers’ rally.
“We had some good things happen today,” Yarusso said. “We had our sophomore middle, Sam Breidenbach who has the game of her life, because she just doesn’t care [about making mistakes]. ”
Brit made a kill and Sam made a block to cut the Connetquot lead to 3. A net violation by the Thunderbirds made the gap 21-23. Maureen McLaughlin fired a kill to put Connetquot ahead, 21-24. Sam responded with a smiling winner of her own. Then came Long, usually a reliable server, and the miss.
“She’s a perfectionist,” Yarusso said. “She’s a perfectionist in school. She’s a perfectionist everywhere. If I were to bet my life on somebody serving, it would be her. It’s good that she did it now, in a league game, rather than in the playoffs.”
Lady Tigers Live On Defense
The Northport girls soccer team came through its most difficult stretch of the regular season, last week, winning three games in consecutive days. The Lady Tigers (6-0-1 in League II) defeated Lindenhurst 2-1 on Thursday, Commack 1-0 on Friday and Ward Melville 1-0 on Saturday.
Defense and a deep roster have been the keys to the Lady Tigers’ success. So far, this season, they have allowed only five goals while recording six shutouts. The team is so rich with talent that Coach Tom Fazio runs a rotation of 17 players during games, including the goaltenders — senior Pam Monnier and sophomore Meredith McGuire.
“All these players are really strong,” Fazio said. “The only thing that’s hard about it is that it doesn’t give players time to get a rhythm…. They’re playing and then they stop… But when you have that many players, the difference is so miniscule, how do you decide who’s going to play and who is going to sit?”
A stressful moment for Coach Anthony Yarusso, whose Lady Tigers volleyball team lost to Connetquot on Monday, 3 games to 1.
Sophomore middle hitter Sam Breidenbach, who finished with a career-high 9 kills and 7 blocks for the Lady Tigers.
Northport senior Laura Guilfoy (No. 4, center) puts a shot past a pair of Connetquot players.
Record Photos/Michael R. Sisak
Labels: Girls' Volleyball, High School, Long-Islander (2003-2007), Northport
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home