Sports

Monarchs edged in five-game thriller in Greenport

GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Greenport/Southold setter Sydney Mulvaney delivered 13 assists for the Clippers against Bishop McGann-Mercy.
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Greenport/Southold setter Sydney Mulvaney delivered 13 assists for the Clippers against Bishop McGann-Mercy.

CLIPPERS 25, 25, 18, 16, 25, MONARCHS 23, 23, 25, 25, 23

Following her Greenport/Southold girls volleyball team’s season-opening loss to Bishop McGann-Mercy, coach Sue Kostal vowed that she would have a markedly different team by the end of the season.

It didn’t take that long.

Less than a month later, the Clippers are as different as they were on opening day as night and day. That was clear Thursday when they began the second half of their season by prevailing in a five-game thriller against that same McGann-Mercy team. The young Clippers won three games by 25-23 scores, including the decisive fifth game in which they trailed virtually the whole way before rallying for the final 7 points of the match at Greenport High School.

McGann-Mercy coach Jamie Calandro called two timeouts during that run in an attempt to cool the Clippers, but it didn’t work. The Monarchs tried to pop up a hit by Greenport/Southold’s Jenna Standish on match point, but were unable to, and the Clippers rejoiced, hugging each other in celebration. With the 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 25-23 triumph, Greenport/Southold (3-5, 3-4 League VIII) snapped a three-match losing streak. McGann-Mercy (3-6, 3-5) suffered its fifth loss in six matches.

McGann-Mercy held a 119-109 superiority in total points and a 29-18 advantage in kills, but it wasn’t enough for the Monarchs.

Standish, the Greenport/Southold captain, was a standout, collecting 9 kills, 4 service aces and an assist. Sydney Mulvaney provided 13 assists. Sam Henry was steady at the service line, going 21 of 25, with 6 aces.

As well as Standish played, perhaps no one had a better match than McGann-Mercy’s Amanda Blacknik, who put away 14 kills to go with 4 aces and 2 dinks. The Monarchs also received 12 kills, 5 aces, 3 dinks, 2 blocks and an assist from Fiona Nunez.

Unlike McGann-Mercy, which has a more experienced team with seven seniors and a pair of juniors on its roster, the Clippers are young, with four sophomores and only one senior, Ashely Billera.

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