Phillips leads Smithtown East to LI 'AA' title
Delia Phillips #2 of Smithtown East drives a shot against Joanne Josephson #15 Massapequa during the Class AA Long Island High School girls volleyball regional finals at St. Joseph's College on Saturday in Patchogue, New York. (Nov. 12, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Delia Phillips did everything but walk on water. Smithtown East's senior outside hitter scooped balls off the floor, towered over the net for kills and kept Massapequa's defense on its heels with her steady service game.
Though it was far from a one-woman show, the Bulls' star player performed mightily with the ever-present chants of "MVP" circulating around the St. Joseph's College gym
Phillips had six kills and three digs in the fourth game as the Bulls beat Massapequa, 25-21, 17-25, 25-18, 28-26, to win their first Class AA Long Island championship since the program split into two teams.
They advanced to the state tournament, which begins Saturday in Glens Falls.
The Bulls (19-2) clinched the first game on a kill from Phillips that bounced off the shoulder of Massapequa libero Erin Bies. The Chiefs evened the match at a game apiece on Heather Sweeney's kill.
After taking the third, Smithtown East fell behind 18-14 in the fourth. A wide kill attempt from Massapequa (15-1) tied the score at 18. Jess Mulderig made a kill to give East a 21-19 advantage.
Bulls coach George Alamia called a timeout after the Chiefs broke a 22-22 tie. Smithtown East scored the next two points to get to match point, but a Bulls service fault tied the game at 24. Trailing 25-24, Megan Mulvaney's block prevented the Chiefs from forcing a fifth game.
On the next point, Lauren Van Buren capped a long rally with a kill, but Phillips responded with one of her own to tie the score at 26.
At 27-26, after yet another extended rally, Phillips added another dig and put the finishing touches on the match with one final kill.
