Hampton Bays Girls Volleyball Team Tops Bayport for First Time in More Than a Decade

Tania Quiros looked around her home gym in awe Friday night.

Not only was it sinking in that the senior’s Hampton Bays girls volleyball team bested Bayport-Blue Point for the first time in well over a decade, but as family and friends stormed the court it hit her that the Baymen did so in dominating fashion, coming away with a 3-1 win — 25-20, 14-25, 25-13, 25-14 — that keeps them in the hunt for at least a share of the League VI title.

“I’m so satisfied. I couldn’t be more proud with how we played,” said Quiros, who collected 22 digs, 13 kills, three aces, a block and an assist across the October 13 matchup. “I don’t think we could’ve played any better, and we definitely played to our full potential. We knew we could beat them, and we maintained that mindset to accomplish something monumental.”

The Baymen (7-2) kept the first set close and used hard hits to force the Phantoms to return the ball out of bounds and bounce out to an 18-15 lead. From there, kills by Quiros, senior outside hitter Mia Schoerlin and junior middle blocker Asha Pensa-Johnson helped the girls cruise to a first-set win.

“I felt very supported by my team,” said Pensa-Johnson, who finished with 17 digs, 11 kills, seven blocks and two assists, adding the cheers inside her team’s home gym were also a contributing factor. “The crowd hyped us up. The energy was electric.”

But the noise level also meant the Baymen had to command attention in order to avoid any miscommunication, which happened more than once across the second set. Nellie Nicolova (eight kills, six digs) said after dropping the second set the Baymen huddled together to discuss cutting down on their unforced errors.

“We made sure to get every ball,” Pensa-Johnson said. “We definitely played more together, and it kept our spirits up.”

The junior showed that in the third set, where she secured back-to-back kills on both sides of her own block to help Hampton Bays double the lead, 8-4. Nicolova leapt high for a big block herself and dumped the ball over the net seconds later to redouble her team’s advantage, 10-5.

Pensa-Johnson was also glowing over the way her team was able to rebound from a set loss that might have otherwise led her team to spiral toward defeat.

“We didn’t give up,” the junior said. “We always let Bayport get in our heads because we were expected to lose when we played them. But this time, we went into the game with the expectation of winning, and it definitely made a difference.”

Bayport rallied for four straight points in the third to close within four, 16-12, and force Hampton Bays to call for a timeout. The regrouping worked, as back-to-back Nicolova kills and a Pensa-Johnson block put momentum back in the Baymen’s favor. A Brianna Valderrama kill and two aces from Quiros propelled the team to the win and into the final set.

“We used revenge as our motive,” Quiros said. “Ever since we lost to them last year in the Suffolk County final we have been focused on this. We worked hard to limit our mistakes and we knew that it was more of a battle against ourselves when we played Bayport than anything. It was all just a mental game, and we finally figured out how to overcome it.”

But she admitted she was still nervous about closing it out. Even as she and Pensa-Johnson dominated the fourth with crucial gets and hard-hitting spikes that led the Baymen to take an 18-12 lead and force the Phantoms to call for another break in the action. Junior setter Julia Brandes (14 assists, seven digs) came away with one of her three aces out of the timeout, and a Quiros tip and two kills boosted the Baymen to a 23-13 advantage.

“Rather than focusing on having a good hit, I paid more attention to hitting wherever there were holes in Bayport’s defense,” Quiros said. “I had so much confidence in myself and in the team, and I knew we wouldn’t be disappointed by the outcome.”

A Nicolova spike through blockers and a Pensa-Johnson block lifted the team to victory.

“This win is sweet,” Nicolova said. “It feels right considering the amount of energy, confidence and ambition we walked into the gym with. I was prideful in my team and our ability to play with confidence and skill to achieve a win that we’ve been craving. It feels so good and assuring knowing that if this team really wants it, we can have it.”

Head coach Andy Fotopoulos was delighted seeing his girls put their best foot forward. Not only did they swiftly recover from a 3-1 loss to Westhampton Beach two days prior, they rebounded from a 3-2 edging on the road at Bayport last month.

“Everyone brought their ‘A’ game,” he said. “After we lost a heartbreaker to them the first time, we had Friday the 13th circled on our calendars. We were looking forward to this rematch. It was nice seeing the girls finally get over the hump after losing some close matches to them over the years, and taking one step closer to their team goal of winning a league championship.”

Hampton Bays followed up the showing with a 3-0 blanking of Ross on Saturday, while Bayport secured a 3-0 sweep of Mt. Sinai. If the Baymen beat Elwood-John Glenn (6-3) and the Phantoms top Shoreham-Wading River (6-3) Wednesday, the pair will share the League VI title. The Class A playoffs are scheduled to begin Tuesday, October 24.

“We needed something to pick us up, especially before playoffs, and the feeling that all of us had after winning this game is for sure the most satisfying and most achieving feeling any of us have felt in a while,” Quiros said. “Our level of confidence right now is higher than it’s ever been. Nothing can stop us now.”