Somers Volleyball Ends Season with Thriller Against Lakeland

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Monday, Nov. 4, Somers entered the quarterfinal round of the sectionals, and Lakeland stood in the way. Two versus three at the high school, the pairing lived up and the narrow margin of victory followed suit.

Five sets, the final game even went to deuce. But Somers did not come out on top, and a 16-25, 25-13, 25-18, 17-25, 15-13 score ended their season.

Nonetheless, Somers came out swinging. After a Lakeland serve into the net, Libby Hochman dealt an ace, Maren Kellock followed with a kill, and so did Enya Murphy.

Lakeland’s call for time didn’t help either, and upon return, Kellock remained on the clock. Two kills and a block opened up a 9-1 lead, and the senior blaster had her Tuskers moving to the beat.  

Of course, the hitter wasn’t the only one with a high step. Alex Googel added four kills, and the 15-4 lead removed any drama from game one.

Unfortunately for Somers, game two signaled Lakeland’s arrival, and the early drama played out. Caelyn Faison and Sophia Cruz traded a dink and a kill respectively with Adrianna Adelmann’s mix of hardball and soft.

An errant serve by Kellock then tied the score at three, but on the next point, Lakeland went high and low to take the lead for good. Two diving saves, the defense set Cruz up, and she also dented the floor with a kill from the left.

Somers could only wish, the level playing surface definitely gave Lakeland the edge, and Tatiana Aquart really began to make the point. She skied high and easily put back Googel’s attempted kill.

A 5-3 game, offense took the next step. Kelly Mallon knocked two kills, and Taryn Bruno went aces up for a 10-5 lead.

A Somers kill long and one into the net added two more for Lakeland, and from there, the Hornets spread the wealth. Mallon, Cruz and Faison all swung away, and an 18-10 lead let Aquart put the game away.  

Four blocks, and while Lakeland evened the match, the momentum remained on the side of the visitors. Mallon aced, Sarah Keegan got up for the block and then Mallon hit the trifecta with another kill.

A couple of Lakeland errors kept it a 4-3 lead, but another three-peat was on the way. A block, a kill and a block, Aquart gave the three seed a 10-4 lead, and more defense was on the way. Ava Stabile went to the floor for a Katie Kourakos dink, and the save had Somers hitting out.

Cruz made it 12-4 on another kill, and Aquart maintained the eight point lead with another stuff. Cruz now up at the serve line, her ace made for the biggest lead of the game at 14-5.

Somers did fight back to 21-18 on consecutive kills by Adelmann and Googel, but two knocks by Mallon completed the 25-18 scoring line. So getting late, Lakeland took the early kill count by a tally of 3-1. On the other hand, several Hornet errors made for a 4-4 game.

The back and forth continuing, a Googel block and kill and a Kourakos slam matched up with an Aquart ace and kill, and a Keegan knock off. 

Knotted up at nine, Somers started to get separation from front to back. Adelmann blocked at the net, and Hochman added an ace for an 11-9 advantage.

Kellock maintained the two point lead with another kill, and after Googel blocked for a 14-12 lead, Somers got very friendly with the lines. First Adelmann hit the sideline on the serve, and Googel hit the other on the slam.

An off-speed spike by Gianna Morales made it 18-12, and two aces by Kourakos was too much for Lakeland to overcome in the 25-17 defeat.

Momentum didn’t hold this time, though. Cruz opened set five with two kills and added another to a Bruno ace. 5-2, reflexes piled onto the Somers woes. On tight plays off the net, Cruz and Mallon came up with ricochets that ultimately landed the points on the Lakeland side. 

A 7-2 hole for Somers, the girls didn’t give in. Kellock killed to stop the run, and Googel hit three times to cut the lead.

Down three, she stepped back and Morales and Kourakos stepped up. A kill from the center and two aces from the Somers setter tied the game at nine.

But a kill each by Kellock, Googel and Morales was not enough to pull away. Coupled with two Somers errors, Mallon’s dink had each team three points away.

The 12-12 tie had Cruz answering with a kill, and all the pressure, both teams dug in at 13-12. First Mallon shoveled out Adelmann’s hit, and on the return, Hochman was all arms on Aquart’s big blast. Up to Kellock, she set to Adelmann, and the center hitter found a spot in the corner without leaving her feet.

Gotta win by two, Cruz's kill found the floor for ad in, but unfortunately, Googel’s slam sailed long. The thriller was over, and so was Somers’ amazing season.