Mattituck girls fall in state volleyball pool play
Mattituck's Kathryn Zaloom watches her spike get over the net at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls volleyball state Class C semifinals pool play where Mattituck fell to Millbrook at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York on November 21, 2015. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
-- Rarely does a championship-less season end in a dogpile.
The Mattituck girls volleyball team did not get the memo.
In their final game of six in pool play at the state Class C semifinals Saturday, the Tuckers defeated Broadalbin Perth, 25-23. Mattituck had played 29 other state-tournament games in five appearances upstate and had never won.
The 1-5 record in pool play sent the Tuckers home without a spot in Sunday's championship. But getting this win was almost as good, so the Tuckers dogpiled. They smiled. They hugged. Some even shed tears of joy.
"This is kind of like a championship for us," senior Dawn Rochon said.
Mattituck (17-4) had struggled all day. The Tuckers lost to Eden, 10-25, 15-25. They fell to Millbrook, 14-25, 16-25, and they dropped the first set against Broadalbin Perth, 17-25. They knew they had one last chance to accomplish the unprecedented.
"We were like, 'Guys, we have to make history,' " senior Carly Doorhy said. "The whole day we've been losing. Let's just go out there, leave our hearts on the floor and let's just do it,' and we did."
It was far from easy.
"There's no possible way that you come up here and get stuff handed to you," coach Frank Massa said.
Broadalbin Perth took a 5-1 lead in a game that featured 10 lead changes and nine ties. The Tuckers used an 8-1 run to take a 24-17 lead, but Broadalbin Perth got the next six points.
"I kept telling the girls, 'Hang on to this,'" said Doorhy, a four-year starter. "Don't let it go. This is our one chance."
Facing the pressure of history and Broadalbin Perth's comeback attempt, Madison Osler rose at the net and smashed the winning kill. The Tuckers knew that Eden and Millbrook had already secured the two spots in the championship, but the reaction to Osler's kill gave no indication that Mattituck's season had just ended.
"I think it really hit us right as we won that this was the last time this [could] happen and that we were all going to be together," senior Meghan McKillop said. "That just makes it really special."
Including this year, the Tuckers have made five of the last six state tournaments.
"Staying positive the whole time was really hard," Doorhy said, "because after you lose a lot you tend to get down, but we stayed up."
