Southampton Girls Volleyball Comes Up Just Short in Suffolk County Class B Championship

A service ace by Danna Nieto gave the Southampton girls volleyball team a 25-23 victory in the third set of the Suffolk County Class B Championship at Hauppauge High School on November 6, and with it all the momentum it would need in bringing what would have been an unforeseen county title back east across the Shinnecock Canal.

But Erin Baldock and Center Moriches had other plans.

Baldock awoke from what seemed to be a first-half slumber to the match to lead the Red Devils to a 3-2 victory — 25-18, 18-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-7 — and with it the second straight county title for Center Moriches. She finished with a match-high 27 kills, many of which came as she brought the team back from a slight deficit in the middle of the fourth set. Her pair of kills and a pair of service aces gave the Red Devils a 23-17 lead late in that game, and although the Mariners made a quick comeback attempt, Center Moriches held on to the 25-22 victory.

Center Moriches started the fifth and deciding set on a 4-0 run, but following a timeout by their head coach Jorgine Buccio, the Mariners tied the match, 6-6. But a service error by Southampton gave Center Moriches an 8-7 lead as the two teams switched courts, and the Red Devils closed out the set by scoring the matches’ final eight points with back-to-back kills from Baldock.

After losing, 3-0, at home to Center Moriches on September 13, Southampton lost a close 3-2 match at Center Moriches on October 15. In that match, the Mariners fell behind, 2-0, only to win the next two sets and bring the Red Devils to the brink in a 15-13 loss in the fifth that was decided on a service error.

Although they lost the first set last week to Center Moriches, winning the next two sets proved that the Mariners certainly belong in the county championship. And with the Southampton fans and players dancing to the Village People’s “YMCA” in between the third and fourth sets, the overall sense was that the Mariners would pull off the upset. But it wasn’t meant to be.

The emotional look on the players’ faces as the Center Moriches players accepted their county championship plaques certainly had the look of those who thought they could really win it. Buccio said it was a hard-fought loss.

“We really just came back to the 3-2 situation that we were in against them earlier this season,” she said. “It was a little bit different this time from having been down two and having to come back … This was not the outcome we wanted, but I’m really proud of them. They persevered and it comes down to grit and errors, even on both sides. Yes, we had our errors, but it just didn’t work out for us. But we’ve come so far. They gave their heart and soul and they’re ready to come back next year.”

Southampton junior Haven Daley led the team with 27 digs. She also had eight assists. Junior Bea Pariz had 11 digs, four aces and four kills. Bailey Brown, another junior, led the team with 12 kills and she also had 26 digs. Nieto, another junior, had 12 digs and three aces, and sophomore Lucia Obregon had 11 assists.

Southampton came out of relatively nowhere to go on its run to become county finalists, clinching its first postseason berth in nearly 30 years. With the entire team expected to be back, with no seniors on the team at any point this season, Buccio said she and her players expect to be back in the county final next season.

“We’re looking to be here again and take this match next time,” she said.