Somers volleyball stays on track with win over John Jay

SOMERS, N.Y. - After winning the first two sets and taking a 5-0 third-set lead, the Tuskers looked ready to stampede Route 35 with a crosstown sweep of John Jay. Instead, the Wolves gnashed their teeth, won the third set and took a 20-14 lead in Game 4. Timeout called, the pause did more than slow the home team’s momentum.

Somers scored 11 straight, and the Tuskers were put on happy trails with a four-set victory.

The match began with John Jay getting a look at what they would not be able to solve all afternoon. Abby Babboni took a middle set and directed a one-handed push that landed in the back corner. Khloe Kishart followed with two aces, and Olivia Donaldson knocked a kill for a 4-0 lead.

The Wolves weren’t going to be cowed, though. Georgia Costa knocked down an errant bump, and after Babboni struck out deep, Costa dealt an ace.

At 4-3, Somers took its turn with a run. On a tight set, Babboni was able to drop a dink, Ruby Quinn followed with a pair of aces, and Sivan Ohana built an 8-3 lead with her first kill.

But the game still had its runs. After Svea Almquist served out, Sophia Calandros set Emily Fulton for a center kill, Layla Grassi stepped up with a block, and Maria DeGaetano aced Somers to an 8-7 game.

The Jay run would stop, but not for long. After Maegan Brown’s spike from the left, a long dig had Fulton try a dink over center. Not quite. Babboni anticipated and blocked it back for a 9-7 lead.

So Fulton took revenge to get her team going again. On a tight bump, she dropped a second-ball dink, and after Somers obliged with two errors, Ohana added three straight aces.

At 13-10, Somers dug in. Katie Kourakos and Zara Salazar both made diving saves before Fulton hit her spike into the net. Claire Cronin then responded with a kill, and another Kourakos save set up an errant spike by John Jay.

All tied, John Jay had its last hoorah. Costa managed a tight set with a perfect dink for a one-point lead, but that led to another puzzle the Wolves couldn’t solve. On the next two points, Kourakos found an open spot on the sideline, and Somers never looked back.

Brynn Robinson aced for a 16-14 lead, and Babboni put up two blocks to double the lead. Ohana couldn’t answer with her kill attempt, but knocks by Maegan Brown and Babboni opened a 22-16 lead that turned into a Game 1 victory, 25-19.

Somers continued to roll in the second set. Two errors from the home team, followed by three more from Babboni — a block, one of her patented pushes and a center kill — opened a 5-0 lead.

Salazar’s bad bump stopped the run, but Somers didn’t take its foot off the gas. Babboni killed and pushed twice for three, and Kourakos’ shot to the sideline made for a 10-3 lead.

A furious rally ending with a Fulton kill inspired the Wolves to within 10-5 until three John Jay errors squashed the momentum. Still, John Jay responded. Kills by Euwen Chong and Costa were added to a DeGaetano dink for a 13-8 score.

Even so, Somers wasn’t impressed — especially Babboni. Around a few more Jay errors, the big scored another push and blocked a dink attempt by Blake Axelrod. The lead grew to 19-10 on a Kishart ace, and one more Babboni push, a Brown ace and a Cronin kill gave Somers a two-set lead.

With a definite pep in their step, Somers again jumped out. Kourakos set Babboni for an outside swing, Kishart nailed two aces, and Kourakos hit a lefty slam for a 5-0 lead.

Three straight aces by Costa woke John Jay up, and the hitter eventually pulled the game even on a kill at 8-8. The game went back and forth until a pair of Fulton aces gave John Jay a 16-13 lead, and two Somers errors made for a 25-19 final.

Onto the fourth, Somers again took the initiative. Salazar dug out an Axelrod slam to set up a Shari Marrero off-speed kill for the first point, and Babboni blocked and pushed the Tuskers to an 8-3 lead.

Defense then maintained the five-point status quo. Almquist made a diving dig to set up a Brown kill, and Kishart and Salazar did double duty, diving on the same point to preserve a 10-5 score.

A Cronin kill added another, but John Jay fought back. First aided by three Somers errors, Fulton’s second-ball dink closed the game to 11-9, and for once, Kourakos’ radar was off. Her deep push was just out, and one error later, the score was tied.

Staying knotted at 13 on an errant Somers set, the miscue left John Jay ready to separate. Costa killed for the lead, Fulton added an ace, and the Wolves weren’t done. Axelrod knocked one down from the middle, Costa did her thing again from the outside, and the score ballooned to 20-14 on two aces by Calandros and a center kill by Audree Chong.

Time called, Babboni began the run. She took a Kourakos outside set and knocked a cross-court laser. A John Jay error followed, and Babboni made them pay. She blocked for a three-point game and pulled her team to within one by pulling a Kourakos.

Her dink found the back-right corner, and the misdirection undid John Jay. The Wolves followed with three straight errors, and a 22-20 game had Babboni rubbing it in. Another block moved Somers two points away, and, no surprise, Babboni ended the excitement on a perfect center set by Kishart.