Downs Take Over East Hampton Girls Volleyball Team That Lost 11 To Graduation

The East Hampton girls volleyball team is starting anew this season as the team lost 11 seniors to graduation and also has a new, but familiar, head coach.

Abigail Downs has replaced Alex Choi as the new varsity head coach. Downs, a 2014 East Hampton High School graduate who played under legendary Hall of Fame coach Kathy McGeehan, had been an assistant coach within the program the past three seasons, but now leads the program she once played for.

Downs, who will be assisted by Bridget Ehmann, said that she, and the entire coaching staff, from varsity down to middle school, is dedicated to the program and to bringing the varsity team back to the playoffs.

“We do this year-round,” Downs said. “[Junior varsity coach Jacqueline Bates] and I run open gyms basically once the middle school season ends. We bring all of our high school-aged girls, because East Hampton is a feeder district with kids coming from Montauk and Springs, and so we take those incoming eighth-graders and invite to get to know everyone just so it’s not so daunting coming in to a new school and team. So we really do work around the clock here.”

Although the team lost a bevy of talent via graduation, the team does return a handful of seniors that Downs expects to lead the team this season. That includes rightside setter Natalie Mongan, libero Julia Kuneth, rightside setter Mackenzie Lenahan, middle Shelia Ferez and outside hitter Susie DiSunno. The majority of the team, Downs said, is made up of mostly juniors and one freshman who she pulled up from the junior varsity.

East Hampton will play in Class A/League V this season that includes Amityville, Islip, Kings Park, Rocky Point and Westhampton Beach. It opened up the season on Monday with a 3-0 nonleague loss at Hampton Bays but will try and rebound with a match in Amityville this Saturday, September 14, at 9 a.m. The Bonackers will play at Westhampton Beach this Monday at 4:30 p.m. before playing its home opener on September 19 against Kings Park at 4:30 p.m.

Downs reiterated that her goal is to get the team back to the postseason, but it’s not going to be easy getting there.

“We just missed out on the playoffs very a slim margin last year,” she said. “I think having more time to practice in the gym, for me, I love it. It will allow us to work on some things that we’re lacking or need more time to work on, so selfishly, I’ll take that. But my goal is to go big or go home, and these girls are going to get every ounce and every scrap of knowledge I have of this game so they can build their comprehension of the sport.”