Girls Volleyball Beats Commack In 3 Sets

Ward Melville girls volleyball Patriots, No.2, won three straight sets against the Commack Cougars, seeded No.10, with only the last game ending closely. 

Heroes: Ward Melville's Haley Blunt had 12 kills and 12 digs. Along side Blunt was Emily Asterita with 10 kills and 2 blocks. 

Turing Point: The first set began with Commack serving an ace, and the team rallied to a 8-2 lead. With Blunt's stretch at service, the Patriots soon caught up tieing both team at 10. Ward Melville's defense would become a wall against Commack, who only up an extra three points as the game ended 25-13. 

The second set was where Ward Melville showed their strength. Some tough digging by Patriot Alexa Stonish kept the Cougars scoring low, while the rest of the team helped reach 25 points with ease. Set two ended at 25-9. 

Commack came out strong in the third match, hoping to see a five game set.  Commack's had their largest lead of the match at 7-2. The Patriots began to pick up steam and tied Commack at 16. From there, it would be a trade of points, one after the other, until a Commack serve fell out of bounds, ending the game at 25-23.

Quote: "We hadn't played since Oct. 29, so we were expecting a little rust. I had told the girls the first 8 points would be a nightmare, and they were. That situation passed and the players were able to get comfortable with this playoff situation," Ward Melville head coach Charles Fernandes said.

Bottom Line: Ward Melville has a couple of injuries with undeclared playing statuses, but they seem to have enough talent off the bench to succeed this postseason. This game was a great example of the coordination that has brought this team so far. With a few power players and wall-like blockers at the net, Ward Melville's competition can't be too confident.

 Key Statistics:

 Haley Blunt-12 kills and 12 digs

Emily Asterita-10 kills and 2 blocks

Box Score