Kathryn Zaloom leads Mattituck to Suffolk 'C' title
Mattituck No. 5 Kathryn Zaloom and teammates celebrate after the Suffolk Class C girls volleyball final at Suffolk Community College on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Credit: James Escher
Kathryn Zaloom brought the boom.
The sophomore led top-ranked Mattituck (10-2) to a 3-1 win over No. 2 Babylon (6-5) in the Suffolk Class C girls volleyball championship at Brentwood's Suffolk Community College campus Monday night.
A first-year varsity player, Zaloom smashed 23 kills to lead the Tuckers over the resilient Panthers, whose only win came in the third set thanks to senior Margot Zamet.
If you ask teammate Carly Doorhy, Zaloom was on another level.
"Kathryn's hitting was on point," Doorhy said. "That was the best game she's ever had. I'm so proud of her."
Mattituck earned a 25-7 win in the first game behind eight kills from Zaloom. The Tuckers won, 25-15, in the second.
That's when Zamet and the Panthers stormed back. They took an emotional third set, 26-24, and Zamet had 10 kills.
At that point, Mattituck coach Frank Massa was getting nervous. "The last thing we wanted to do was go to 2-2 after taking the first two sets," he said.
But the Tuckers turned it up a notch in the final set, winning, 25-13, to clinch a trip to the Long Island Class C title match Saturday at 11 a.m. at Suffolk CC.
Massa and the Tuckers have won five of the last six Suffolk Class C titles. And while Doorhy is a four-year starter, Zaloom is getting her first taste of winning titles.
"I'm nervous, but I'm excited to play with people who are better than me because that's how you get better," Zaloom said after playing like an experienced star.
