Riverhead girls volleyball team makes playoffs for the first time since 2013

For the first time since 2013, the Riverhead Blue Waves girls volleyball team earned a playoff berth Wednesday. And they could not have picked a better day to do it.

Senior appreciation night took center stage at the Riverhead High School gymnasium before the Blue Waves defeated Central Islip in straight sets, 25-15, 25-5, and 25-8, on Wednesday night. The seniors on this team have been through the ringer, trying to grow the program back to its previous prominence. They took their lumps and bruises even as recently as last year when the team only managed to eke out three wins.

Riverhead (7-4 League I, 8-5 overall) featured eight seniors this season and each one of them made an impact on the team. Deanna North, Lucia Mannetta, Olivia Smith, Kaysee Mojo, Claire Normoyle, Jamie Ellwood, Tifany Perez and Bailey Tonn earned every bit of the recognition they received — even before winning the match that earned them a spot in the playoffs.

“These seniors began playing volleyball in 7th grade and have been my first group of seniors I have seen all the way through,” Riverhead head coach Rose Horton said. “I watched them grow into beautiful young ladies and wonderful athletes. They have paved the way for future Blue Waves athletes to see what hard work and dedication can lead to.”

In the victory over Central Islip (0-11 League I), Riverhead got a big contribution from Adriana Martinez who had 17 assists and four aces. Manetta nailed five kills and Ellwood returned from an injury to add three more.

Before the season, the team made a road map of how they wanted the year to play out, which eventually led to the playoffs. “There’s going to be bumps in that road,” Horton said earlier in the year following a loss to Longwood. “But we just have to stay the course.”

Safe to say the hypothetical map turned into reality. 

With playoff qualification out of the way, seeding is next on the agenda. Riverhead has three games remaining against Longwood (6-5), Walt Whitman (7-5) and Patchogue-Medford (9-2). Getting a few more wins under their belt will be crucial in playoff seeding.