Somers Moves to 3-0 with Sweep Over Ossining
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On Wednesday September 10, Somers was hoping to remain undefeated, and after taking the first two versus visiting Ossining, the prospects were good. 23-21 in favor of the Tuskers and Katie Kourakos was primed at the net to set up match point. But the hitter/setter had something else in mind.
“There’s always the deep corner,” she said, and an easy push found open space, which led to Katie Coughlin’s afternoon deciding ace.
The first three points of the match had Somers find the floor too. Abby Babboni killed from the left, and Katie Kourakos served a pair of aces.
Ossining did answer with the next two points but Babboni had a reply. “I’m the first line of defense,” she said, and her block sparked a mini run. Svea Almquist served an ace, Babboni struck from the middle, and then Olivia Tran added two more aces.
Now 9-3, things tightened up. In between a couple of Somers errors, Talia Cort aced and Sienna Lopes killed and dinked for a 12-10 game.
So Babboni took the middle ground again. Set up by Kourakos, the junior centered two slams for a 14-11 lead.
Sparked again, Almquist dealt a service winner, and then defense led to offense. Kourakos and Almquist made diving digs, and Claire Cronin delivered the kill to her sidekick’s approval. “She’s down and really consistent with her hits,” said Babboni.
17-12, Somers would extend the lead to seven. Olivia Donaldson painted the line with a spike, and Kourakos made the most of being a southpaw. “Hitting with my left hand allows me to aim the ball, because the set is on the side where my arm is,” said the junior.
Two knocks in a row, she had a little help from Olivia Tran on the first kill. On a push into the middle, the libero came flying in, and hitting the horizontal, she accepted the cold hard facts of laying out. “Either it hurts or it’s fun,” the senior joked.
The latter probably applied here, but Ossining refused to bow down. They fought back to 24-22, and the game stood in doubt. Not for Babboni, she took the set this time from Khloe Kishart, and the kill brought a 25-22 win.
On to game two, proximity continued. Kourakos traded a kill with Lopes and Ossining took a 4-3 lead on Reily Gibbons’ slam. Unfortunately for Ossining, three straight errors gave Somers a two point lead, but Amaya Yancey broke the string with a kill from the left.
Not for long, Ossining hit long or short six more times, and the Tusker lead grew to 14-8. A slam into the net by Babboni gave Ossining some life and so did the play of Elizabeth Morris. Palms down, she made a diving save, and Cort knocked down the winner.
The margin contained to five, Somers wasn’t swayed by the acrobatics. Babboni responded with a kill, and Almquist followed with an ace.
Now 17-10, Ossining battled back. With the help of a couple of long balls by Somers, Ossining made it five points in a row by spreading the wealth. Lopes, Cort and Morris all hit kills, and it was a game again.
Fortunately, Cronin answered with a kill, and at 20-16, Somers went left of center and down the middle. Kourakos hit the line on her southpaw spike, and the lead grew to 22-16 on a Cronin block. No help, Ossining was undone by three more mishits, and Ella Barron closed the game with an ace.
One game to go, Cort shared a pair of kills with Cronin and Babboni, and the game was off to a 2-2 start. Cronin followed with another kill and then play moved back. Gibbons served consecutive aces and gave her team a 5-4 lead.
A serve into the net tied the score and gave way to Tran and Cronin taking something off. Both hit off speed spikes that fell and opened a 7-5 lead.
The lead would grow to 11-5 on the strength of kills by Almquist and Donaldson. But Ossining wasn’t letting the day slip away just yet. Cort began the way back with a kiii off the net, and Lopes gave Somers a dose of their own medicine by dropping a soft ball behind the front line.
12-8, Ossining got two closer next. Kaylie Howie landed an ace and a kill, and several Somers miscues later, the score was tied at 13.
A deadlock that reached 20. Kourakos’ block did the honors, and in stepped Kishart at the serve line. “No sweat,” her sarcasm revealed the pressure of the moment.
Even so, two aces tipped the balance, and after an errant Ossining spike, Kourakos’ radar put the game on the brink. Katie Coughlin’s turn, she also took something off and the mishandled bump moved Somers to 3-0 on the season.
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