Morgan Reese powers Sayville girls volleyball to Suffolk Class A title
Sayville outside hitter Morgan Reese returns the volley against Half Hollow Hills West in the Suffolk Class A volleyball finals, Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at Happaugue High School. Credit: George A Faella
It would be hard to forget the name Morgan Reese if you watched the Suffolk Class A volleyball championship. It was hard to believe how often her name blasted through the speaker after hammering a kill.
It was 30 times to be exact, plus two other times for service aces, as Reese was the most impactful player on the court in Sayville’s 25-21, 26-24, 25-21 win over Half Hollow Hills West in the Suffolk Class A title game on Tuesday at Hauppauge High School.
“She’s a leader, the girls are inspired by her, she makes everyone better," coach Debbie Urso said. “She’s worked day in and day out, she’s so fun to watch.”
Reese’s determination was on display early as she made nine kills in the first set. The Golden Flashes led the set 9-1 before Hills West came back to tie it at 17. Sayville scored eight of the next 12 points to take the set.
“Last year we were here and lost in the fifth set, it was a heartbreaker,” Reese said. “So, this is surreal, we had a lot of drive to win this.”
In the second set Sayville again jumped out to an early lead, going up 8-4 with two aces by Lily Coan and three Adria Vargas kills. Hills West had the answer as Mary Walcott had five service aces and four kills and the Colts were able to grab set point at 24-23.
After an error by Hills West, Reese added one to her kill total and Coan and Kristin Suydam combined for a block to give Sayville the two sets to none advantage.
“We put a lot of preparation into this game, since we haven’t played them before,” Vargas said. “We watched a lot of film, worked hard and stuck to our plan.”
Sayville took their biggest lead of the match in the third set when they went up 22-13, but Hills West once again fought back and trailed 24-20, forcing Sayville to call timeout.
Out of the timeout, Mary Wolcott got a block to get Hills West closer, but Reese fittingly got the final kill to crown Sayville.
“We were in control of our game, and had to keep passing dimes,” said Reese. "Our setter Lily Coan [40 assists] passed dimes all day and she set me up all game.”
Sayville (20-0) advances to the Long Island Class A championship where they will face Section VIII champion (South Side or Calhoun) Friday at 10 a.m. at Hauppauge High School.
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.
