Watch out, League IV, Riverhead volleyball is picking up steam and ready to make a push for the playoffs; the team believes that this may be their year.
Thursday afternoon the Blue Waves notched their fourth consecutive win, beating West Babylon at home in straight sets: 25-15, 25-15 and 25-20. During the winning streak, they have completely dominated, winning in straight sets three out of the four victories, losing only one set in a win over Deer Park on Tuesday.
“We’re playing really well right now and we’re always improving,” said head coach Amy Greene. “Mentally, we’re growing as a team, which is awesome because volleyball is about ninety percent mental.”
The Blue Waves were tested in the third set, when they found themselves down by more than five points, forcing coach Greene to call a timeout and refocus the girls.
“We were starting to let them be the aggressor and we became very laid back,” Greene said. “I told them to go out and attack the ball and use the ball to their advantage.”
“I just thought we were very passive.”
With Joscelin Morrow serving, the Blue Waves fought all the way back, proving that they’re going to be a force as they get ready for the tougher opponents in their schedule.
“We really showed who we were in the third set,” Greene said. “We came back, we weren’t negative and we stayed together.”
All the early success has plastered smiles on all the girls’ faces but they know their work is far from finished.
“I’m really excited about our team,” Morrow said. “We have great chemistry, we trust each other, and we are building great court awareness as a team.”
Having a coach that’s consistently demanding improvement helps fuel the girls to get better every day.
“She helps us see what we can’t see on the court ourselves,” Morrow said. “Which helps us get kills and roll shots that really turn around the momentum in the game.”
Morrow, who plays the all-important libero, anchors the defense while Sara Tucci plays offensive coordinator.
“Sara runs our offense,” Greene said. “So if Sara is having an off day, we’re in trouble. She runs and calls every play. They all look to her on what we’re doing on free balls.”
The play calling mostly depends on how their defense is set up but Tucci likes to mix in as many plays as possible to keep the defense on their toes.
“The more we switch everything up, the more they’ll be confused,” Tucci said.
An aspect Tucci has added is tapping it over herself on the second ball instead of setting up one of the powerful hitters to throw them off.
“It works because they start to scramble and move all over the place,” she said.
Tucci recorded 24 assists and 7 digs.
Senior outside hitter Hali Martens, who is in her third varsity season, put forth another solid performance, killing 8 balls, leaving no room for doubt as to who is the best finisher on the team.
“She’s our go-to hitter,” Greene said. “There is nobody I’d rather have out there to rely on.”
Over the three years on varsity, Martens believes that she has become a “smarter player” and has learned to be a “better passer” modestly calling herself a “pretty good hitter.”
Her experience helps everyone on the team but nobody more than sophomore middle hitter Dezarae Brown who is becoming a standout type of player. She had 8 kills and 3 blocks on Thursday.
“I know she is going to be really good,” Martens said. “When she’s going to be a senior, she’s going to be amazing. I always try to give her little hints on where to go and stuff. I would say ‘you’re always hitting that way, you should try to turn your shoulders’.”
“Dezarae’s swing can really be deadly at times,” Greene said. “And she’s still improving fundamental-wise, with her shoulder position.”
The Blue Waves play in a tournament at Mattituck High School on Saturday.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Michael Hejmej
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