SOMERS, N.Y. - On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Somers hosted Pelham in the first round of the sectionals, and right from the start, Maegan Brown delivered exactly what was expected—smashing a perfectly set ball. Enter Katie Kourakos on a long second-point rally, and Pelham quickly realized that the Somers setter takes the standard play to another level.
“She’s unpredictable. No one knows what her next move is,” Coach Massi Angooti said, praising Kourakos, who pushed deep on the second ball for one of several winners that fueled Somers’ dominating sweep.
Kourakos did serve long on the next point but quickly bounced back, setting Brown and Claire Cronin for a kill and a dink, respectively. With Somers up 5-1, Olivia Tran took over setting duties for a Cronin kill, and Svea Almquist made it 7-1 with two tricky serves that Pelham couldn’t handle.
Pelham called for a timeout, but it provided little relief. Abby Babboni blocked upon return, Almquist dinked off the net, and Tran followed suit on the serve. An ace by Somers extended the lead to 13-4 on a center kill by Ella Barron, while Khloe Kishart’s back set found Kourakos for a left-handed kill. “It’s a setter duo,” the freshman said.
The middle then really pulled away. Barron recorded a block up front and two aces, while Babboni delivered two kills from the center after rotating in. Up 18-7, Kourakos served three consecutive aces, and Cronin capped the game with a kill for a 25-7 win.
Game two began with Kourakos sneaking in a clever play on the first point. Though her second-ball push went long, she corrected it with an ace for a 2-1 Somers lead and later landed a perfectly placed push to the back corner. She teamed with Tran for key digs on a long rally, allowing Cronin to finish with a decisive kill.
Somers led 6-2, and the advantage grew to 10-2 on a birthday ace by Almquist. “My serves today, I had a good run,” the sophomore said.
Then came the highlight—three straight aces for Tran, mixing in two off-speed drops. “It comes with experience,” Angooti noted. “She knows how to control the ball.”
With the lead at 16-3, Kourakos threw a clever change-up after Pelham scored three consecutive points. A second-ball dink into the middle extended the lead to 17-6. Cronin’s kill at 19-8 followed, with Almquist assisting by digging two powerful Pelham hits. Kourakos added a kill and an ace, and a Pelham error sealed the 25-14 win.
Game three opened with wild serving. Kourakos struck twice and Tran added four aces, giving Somers an early 11-3 lead. But Pelham fought back, narrowing the gap to 18-17 before Somers answered with two crucial points.
An off-speed serve by Tran fooled the Pelham bump, and Kourakos showed her dual vision advantage as a setter, spotting the back corner while setting up play up front. Still, Pelham tied it at 21-21. The home crowd cheered as Cronin knocked down two kills and Kishart’s net serve put Somers one point from victory.
Pelham’s final serve went long, and Somers advanced to the quarterfinals.
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