SOMERS, N.Y. - On Saturday, Nov. 1, Somers crossed the Mario Cuomo Bridge to face the Tappan Zee Dutchmen in the Section 1 semifinals. Leading 16–11 in the third set, the Tuskers seemed poised to pivot toward victory — but the final nine points never came.
Tappan Zee rallied to win the set 25–22, then carried the momentum into an easy fourth-set victory to take the match.
The day began as though it might favor Somers. After falling behind early, the Tuskers hung tough. Claire Cronin answered with a kill, and Ella Barron followed with two blocks.
Trailing just 8–7, Somers watched Tappan Zee respond with two kills and a pair of aces, briefly widening the gap. The teams then traded miscues: Barron turned back a Tappan Zee hit, Katie Kourakos dropped a dink, and Khloe Kishart served an ace to bring the Tuskers within one at 16–15.
Still, the Dutchmen refused to surrender the lead. A dink and a kill extended the margin to four. Two more points put Tappan Zee up 22–18, but Somers stayed in the fight. Abby Babboni struck from the middle with a kill and a block, cutting the lead in half.
At 22–20, Kourakos unfortunately served into the net, and Tappan Zee moved within a point of the win with another kill. The Dutchmen then faltered with a long serve and a missed spike — but Somers returned the favor with an error of their own, dropping the opening set to the home team.
Somers came out strong in set two. On the strength of two second-ball dinks from Kourakos, a Maegan Brown kill, three aces from Svea Almquist, and a Babboni block, the Tuskers built an 8–2 lead.
The run ended when Almquist served into the net, opening the door for Tappan Zee to even things at 10–10. The teams traded blows until Brown’s kill gave Somers a 12–11 edge, but the Dutchmen quickly regained control with a block up front.
Ahead 14–13, Tappan Zee added two more points on a block and a kill before Kourakos fired back — blasting a left-handed kill and following with a perfectly placed ace.
Her diving save moments later seemed to sustain the rally, but Olivia Tran hit long from the back row, and a Tappan Zee ace made it 19–16.
Kourakos wouldn’t quit. She hit the floor for another save, then blocked at the net to tie the game at 19–19.
Unfazed, Tappan Zee responded with a 24–20 lead. But Somers showed resilience once again. After a pair of Dutchmen errors, Kishart hit the line for an ace, and Babboni tied the set with a kill from the center.
Nothing came easy, though. Barron’s wide serve put Somers behind, forcing the Tuskers to dig deep. Tran found the hardwood with a deep push, and the change of pace caught Tappan Zee flat-footed. Two more Dutchmen miscues sealed the set for Somers, tying the match at one apiece.
Momentum seemed to be on Somers’ side in the third. After Babboni’s kill on a perfect low set from Kourakos, the setter contributed a back-row off-speed kill and Babboni followed with a block for a 4–1 lead.
Tappan Zee broke the run with a kill and tied the game at five. Kourakos and Babboni responded in kind — another quick set and kill combination restored the lead, and Cronin and Barron extended it to 9–6 with a kill and a block.
The lead grew to four on another Kourakos kill and Barron block, but Tappan Zee clawed back within one.
Undeterred, Somers answered again. Brown tallied a kill, Babboni blocked, and Kourakos dropped in an ace.
Up 16–11, the Tuskers looked ready to close, but Tappan Zee stormed back with three straight points. Somers countered with a Kourakos back-row kill and a Kishart ace, yet the Dutchmen’s defense stiffened. They tied the game at 20 and took the next four points.
A Tappan Zee long serve kept Somers alive, and Tran made a diving save before sneaking in a second-ball push to make it 24–22. But a Tappan Zee kill from the middle ended the set, and the momentum carried into the fourth.
The Dutchmen jumped to an 11–2 lead and never looked back, closing out Somers’ season with a 25–10 win.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here