John Jay Takes League Championship with Sweep Over Somers

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On Wednesday October 16, John Jay traveled to Somers and did so with the league championship on the line. An outcome that hinged on the team’s mindset this year, according to Coach Tom Rizzotti.

Playing to win versus playing not to lose, he said, “They are an absolute force,” and the three game sweep backed up the boast.

Of course, Somers ain’t bad either, and there was plenty of tumult in game one. After John Jay jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of Jaime Bartley-Cohen’s first kill, Somers answered with five straight. Olivia Casabona served out, Adrianna Adelmann killed from the middle, Olivia Tran aced, and Jay contributed two errant spikes.

On serve, a few aces and outs on both sides made for a 7-6 John Jay lead, and a bunch off very short points on the board, the Wolves were ready to run. In fact, the girls actually got the jump start off a lost point.

First, Riley Buckingham charged in with a diving save on the dink and freely gave away the trade secrets. “You read it from the way they hit. You start from their angle approach. Then you go from their hip, shoulder, elbow and wrist,” she said.

Not done, the back row player made a diving save on the kill attempt before the point went to Somers. So her teammates rewarded Buckingham for the hard work. Ahmetaj killed, Hellen Dollar dealt two aces, and Somers obliged with two long spikes.

A 14-7 game, Somers stayed close with an Alex Googel kill and block, so Bartley-Cohen stepped up by changing speeds. A dink and a slam made it 17-12, and the five point lead cued up a little bump, set, spike. Buckingham dug the Abby Babboni spike, Dollar served up the set, and Ahmetaj brought down the house.

19-13 now, John Jay didn’t enjoy the prosperity. Hanna Martinsen dinked into the net, and Ahmetaj misfired four times on hits. Add in two Adelmann kills and an Emma Barton ace, and Somers suddenly led 22-19.

Not panicking, Ahmetaj did a reset. She took a bit off her spike to stop the bleeding and returned to form on the next point. Casabona to Dollar, and the slam was too much for Libby Hochman in the back row.

The teams traded miscues for a 23-23 tie, but an Adelmann dink put the Tuskers on the precipice. No one was giving in, though. Digs and dives on both sides, the play came to Ahmetaj again, and her decisive kill continued to make up for the earlier dry run.

A Gianna Morales dink deuced the game, and the crowd had another long wait at 25-24. Fueled by a diving save by Bartley-Cohen and a two handed dig byMaria DeGaetano, defense put the ball in the hands of Somers one too many times, and Morales hit long.

Deuce, Bartley-Cohen took her turn changing it up. “Sure I like to swing at the ball,” said the senior. “I’m just trying to be smart in situations, and I think dinking is very effective.”

On the ground for ad-in and a Kellock hit long closed the game one at 27-25.

Onto game two, a pair of Kellock early kills made for a 3-3 game, and Somers stayed within one on a block and a kill by Googel. At 7-6, Googel gave back with two errant spikes, and John Jay began to pull away.

Bartley-Cohen dropped another dink, and DeGaetano aced for an 11-6 lead. The margin would grow to six on a Bartley-Cohen kill and a Haley Hoskins ace. From there, Casabona did a one up on her serve, and an Ahmetaj kill set the table for Dollar to put the 25-13 game out of reach with two aces.

One to go, game three looked very familiar. Close early, John Jay pulled away, Somers came back, and John Jay closed out.

The pattern had Somers up 4-2 on a Kellock kill, and John Jay responded with two Ahmetaj kills and two aces by Casabona. Staying on script, Googel and Adelmann regained an 8-7 lead on two kills, and a winning dink and ace respectively.

John Jay’s turn, Ahmetaj and Bartley-Cohen both delivered dinks and took a 10-8 lead. Unfortunately for Somers, a Googel kill did not stop the trend. Julia Shepherd knocked a kill, Meghan McHugh served an ace, and Bartley-Cohen delivered two more kills for a 14-10 lead.

Not done, the lead grew to 19-11. Aces by DeGaetano and Hoskins were added to kills by Dollar, Bartley-Cohen and Ahmetaj.

Of course, John Jay had to endure another Somers run, and when an Adelmann dink made it 20-18, Casabona came out of character. “Helen does so much work already. It’s nice to make her job easier,” said the libero. “So if I can I can get the ball where it needs to go…”

She did just that, and her second ball set teed up Ahmetaj for a 21-18 lead. On a roll literally, Hoskins made a diving save in the back row for a four point lead, and not to be outdone, Buckingham played big in the front row. “They set me back,” said the senior, and she found empty space in the corner with her kill.

Mostly sealing the deal at 23-18, Buckingham’s matter of fact turn at doing what’s necessary was emblematic of the Wolves, according to Rizzotti. “Hey, I’m here to win, and I’m not afraid to go all out. That’s what makes this team special,” he concluded.