Somers Outlasts John Jay in Five Set Marathon

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On September 18, the Tuskers got on Route 35 and resumed their rivalry with John Jay. Two tightly contested games to start, the set count was another matter. Somers won both. But John Jay persisted, and the day came down to the fifth set.

Prevailing by a score of 15-13, Somers made for their transportation and down shifted with a busload of happy faces.

The game didn’t begin on the back and forth, though. Katie Kourakos opened with an ace, Maegan Brown added a kill and a dink, Abby Babboni killed from the center, and Claire Cronin topped off a 9-2 lead with a pair of knocks.

An Ella Barron block extended to a 11-3 lead, so John Jay put their money on the table. Hellen Dollar answered with a kill and an ace.

11-6 after an errant Tusker bump, Somers still had enough funds to draw on. Cronin’s mishit kill landed and so did Kourakos. The setter hit a southpaw slam and found the back corner with her patented push.

Good for a 16-8 game, separation was not forthcoming. After a serve into the net, Euwen Chong registered a kill, and Somers continued to help the John Jay cause with two more errors.

Now 16-12, John Jay didn’t let a Babboni kill bother them. Dollar nailed two more slams and did double duty to move within three. The hitter sent Olivia Tran diving on the slam, and when the ball returned, Dollar answered with a block.

The Wolf didn’t stop either and she had help. She killed for a 19-16 game, and Meghan McHugh’s ace and back row kill tied the game at 20.

Unfortunately for John Jay, the Wolves couldn’t convert the next set ball, and Kourakos rubbed it in with a dink and fastball. Two points away, a Jay miscue made it one, and a Katie Coughlin ace made it zero.

Onto set two, the 25-21 victory ushered more drama. A net ball on John Jay began the back and forth, and John Jay held up their end with a Dollar dink.

Far from done at 1-1, Tran’s diving save in the back set up Babboni for a block, and next, Tran and Dollar traded aces for a 5-4 Jay score. Alivia Donaldson tied it up too and so did a Barron block.

Sevens wild, John Jay went on a mini roll. Michaela Woodard dealt an ace, and Euwen’s block on Brown opened up an 11-7 lead.

Of course, Somers was up to the challenge. Kourakos moved left of center with her kill, Brown went conventional from the right and Babboni blocked in the middle for a 12-11 game.

Exactly where Kourakos placed her second ball push to tie at 13, and after a Jay miscue, Svea Almquist aced Somers to a two point lead. Unfortunately, she gave it right back, and Maria DeGaetano tied the game with an ace of her own.

No worries, Babboni played out of position with a kill on the right, and Somers took an 18-16 lead on kills by Almquist and Cronin.

The latter kept the two point margin with a dink, and so did Kourakos with another deep push. 20-18, Brown killed twice for a 23-20 lead, and John Jay was on edge.

Dollar did fight her team back to 24-22 on another windmill, but an errant Jay serve made for two straight.

Still, John Jay was game for more intensity. After both teams traded miscues in the early going, Dollar dinked and killed for a 5-2 lead, and McHugh knocked ‘em dead too.

Slamming to a 6-3 lead, Somers regrouped when Almquist hit home from the back row, and on a pair of Wolf errors, the Tuskers tied with no complaints.

From there, Somers took the lead on a Coughlin ace and extended to two points on a Kourakos block and a missed John Jay bump. Even so, McHugh killed to get within one, and a pair of Dollar kills gave the home team a 12-11 lead.

Not done, McHugh added her own knock, and the Wolves took a three point lead on a Somers error. 14-11, Tran’s diving acrobatics led to point 12, and Babboni gave the Wolves the brunt with another block.

Even so, John Jay regained a three point lead on a couple of Tusker miscues, and a Euwen dink. 17-14 turned to a four point lead on a Somers miscommunication, and a spike going long.

19-15, Somers didn’t let the Wolves get away. Tran got a harmless bump to land, Barron and Kourakos dropped aces and Brown boomed a kill to tie at 21. She did the same to tie at 22, but Somers gave away the three next three points to keep Jay alive.

Two games to one, Jay rode the momentum. Briefly, Dollar killed to open, and Maria DeGaetano aced for a 2-0 lead. So Somers switched gears. Babboni had a block and a kill, and Cronin paired her kill with a Brown block to tie at five.

There, the score stayed until eleven spelled the stalemate. Euwen combined two kills with Dollar and McHugh dinks, while Somers matched up with an ace by Barron and two more whirlwinds by Kourakos.

Two mini streaks were next. Trans’ ace and Kourakos’ kill was met by two Dollar kills, and the status quo remained at 13-13.

The same at 19 when Babboni blocked big again, and Brown’s bump landed on the next point. Unfortunately, the response was the last hoorah for Somers. Euwen grabbed the lead with a kill, Dollar piled on with hers, and Emily Fulton brought home the 25-21 victory with a block.

All tied, John Jay led early again. Two Somers errors, the favor was returned when Dollar missed the mark twice on slams.

Kourakos extended with an ace, but a DeGaetano ace and kill gave the Wolves a 5-3 lead. Not for long, Babboni stood tall at the net again, and a pair of Almquist aces gave her team a 7-5 advantage.

Dollar’s turn to upset the momentum, her kill made it a one point game, so McHugh took the cue. She added two kills, and gave the home team a 10-9 lead.

McHugh’s serve out tied the game, but Brown returned the favor by also delivering into the net. Then Euwen’s line painting kill made for a 12-10 lead, and the writing was on the wall.

Invisible ink, DeGaetano spiked into the net and so did Euwen. Timeout, the reset quickly paid off. Barron served into the net, and John Jay was two points away at 13-12.

Timeout again, Somers was the beneficiary this time - especially Brown. She had the game tying and game winning kills to put the smiles on the road.

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