Bayport-Blue Point rallies to claim Suffolk Class B girls volleyball championship
Bayport-Blue Point celebrates its win against Hampton Bays in the Suffolk Class B volleyball final, Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at Hauppague High School. Credit: George A Faella
When things weren’t in their favor, Bayport-Blue Point’s confidence never wavered.
The Phantoms dropped their first set largely in part to unforced error and trailed 9-1 in the fourth set, but those were the moments when the team put its best effort on display.
“Our coach always tells us we have the best mental game and I think that’s what got us through this today,” Sydney Leigh-Manuel said. “If we were a team that got down on ourselves when we’re in a hole, we wouldn’t have pulled through.”
Bayport-Blue Point defeated Hampton Bays, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21, to complete their comeback and claim the Suffolk Class B title on Tuesday night at Hauppauge.
In the final set, Bayport-Blue Point found themselves down 9-1, leading to a timeout. The next six points belonged to the Phantoms, with senior Leigh-Manuel earning two of her five kills in the third set during the run.
“We lost in the county final the last two years, so that makes doing this here even better,” Leigh-Manuel said. “We stayed positive and that got us to where we want to be.”
A Hampton Bays error ultimately gave the Phantoms a 15-14 and they soon extended that lead to 23-17. Hampton Bays scored the next three points, but Lauren Baldassare, Leigh-Manuel and finally Erin Wuestmann had three consecutive kills to put the set away.
“It was so satisfying to get that last kill and close it out after all the work we’ve put in,” Wuestmann said. “There was never any doubt that we would win this game, we just had to play to our potential.”
After the Phantoms dropped the first set, they stormed back and took complete control of the second and third sets. They at one point led the second set 22-12 and the third set 14-4.
Bayport-Blue Point will now move on to the Long Island Class B championship where they will face the Seaford or North Shore at 12:30 p.m. on Friday at Hauppauge.
“We always know it’s about us, we made uncharacteristic errors that we have to clean up,” coach Toni Mulgrave said. “But I’m proud of these girls, they played as a team and stuck together.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
