CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Monday, September 22, the volleyball team had the only game on the schedule and welcomed their namesake from East Fishkill. But for most of the afternoon, the shared “John Jay” name was where the similarities ended.
The Wolves fell 25-15 and 25-16 before finally putting up an inspired fight in a thrilling 25-23 finale.
Early in the opening set, the teams were close at 4-3 before Peyton Kellam dinked a tight set for a winner, Jaeda Lisi slammed a kill from the center, and Samantha Seymour aced the Patriots to a 7-3 lead. A block at the net by Julia Shepherd proved just a momentary stop. Three more aces by Seymour, along with a Kellam kill and dink, built a commanding 14-4 advantage.
Despite a few Patriot miscues and strong plays from Meghan McHugh and Maria DeGaetano, East Fishkill stayed in control. Lulvera Rukaj blocked Emily Fulton’s dink to make it 18-9, then added a kill to extend the lead to ten. Too much ground to make up, the Wolves dropped the first set and faced an uphill battle in the second.
East Fishkill opened the next game just as strong, with Kellam racking up three kills and Bella Cabrera adding an ace for a 6-2 lead. But the Patriots stumbled with three miscues and a Haley Hoskins ace that tied the score at six. Once again, Kellam steadied the visitors — a kill and three straight aces helped East Fishkill surge to a 14-6 lead.
When Kellam’s back-row hit missed, the Wolves found some rhythm. Hellen Dollar served an ace, Layla Grassi added a kill, and the Wolves pulled ahead after a furious rally at 16-11. Down four, the Patriots closed to 18-15 on a Grassi ace, but East Fishkill’s front line took over. Kellam delivered two more kills, and Maddy Tokarz and Lisi finished the set with strong attacks.
In the third game, East Fishkill showed no signs of slowing down. Lilliana Bojarczuk, Cabrera, and Rukaj powered the Patriots to an 8-1 start, eyeing a sweep.
The Wolves refused to fold. A pair of Patriot errors broke the run, and Shepherd stuffed a Kellam attack at the net. Two aces from DeGaetano cut the deficit to 9-7. With the defense tightening, Dollar blocked Kellam again, but the East Fishkill standout answered back with an ace to restore momentum. A perfectly placed bump from Margaret Bojarczuk found open court and pushed the Patriots ahead, 12-9.
But the Wolves weren’t done. DeGaetano and Fulton each scored key points, and another long rally turned the tide once again. Up 14-13, the home team extended its lead as Dollar dropped a soft dink and Grassi fired off two aces for an 18-14 advantage.
East Fishkill rallied to tie the game at 21 after several Wolf errors, but the Wolves kept battling. Dollar’s off-speed spike regained the lead, and back-to-back Patriot errors made it 23-21.
Kellam came through once more, hammering a kill and following with a block to give East Fishkill match point at 24-21. But the Wolves made one last push — a long serve and long spike from the Patriots trimmed it to 24-23.
In the end, Lisi took the final set in the middle, sealing the match for East Fishkill and closing out the Wolves’ comeback bid.
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