Bayport-Blue Point Girls Volleyball Defeats Southampton in Straight Sets

The Bayport-Bluepoint Phantoms (11-3) defeated the Southampton Mariners (6-9) three sets to none in a girls volleyball match at Bayport-Blue Point High School on Wednesday afternoon.  The home team was too much for the Mariners to handle, winning the first set by 15 points to set the tone for the match.

Colleen Burst had a solid game for the Phantoms, getting some key blocks and some key swings to help put her team in a great position to score and win. She had a few kill shots that helped to stop Southampton from rallying.

Arielle DiCocco also had a solid game playing the middle of the court, helping direct traffic and filling up gaps between her teammates.

The team's only setter, Bailey Walker, was quick to get to nearly every second ball, which helped keep the team together as a solid unit throughout the game.

At one point the Phantoms scored nine points in a row in the first set to take a commanding lead on their way to a 25-10 first set win.  In the second set, the team floundered and failed to establish a lead until late in the set because of Southampton's strong serving, which often caught the Phantoms off guard. The Lady Phantoms still managed to take the set 25-19. 

In the third set the team seemed to figure things out once again and rolled out an early 11-3 lead.  They continued to build on that and cruised to a 25-11 win to take the final set and the match.

"It was an emotional day because it's senior day and I was their middle school coach," said Phantoms head coach Toni Mulgrave, "I'm the only coach they've had and I've brought a lot of them up when they came onto JV.  This team has really bought into the concept that we're one team and not one person.  Whoever I put in, they step up and you don't feel like your levels drop at all.  They're all accountable to each other."

The Bottom Line: This was the Phantoms final home game.  They'll play one more game on the road before the playoffs begin.  They currently share the same record as Mt. Sinai, tied for second place in the league behind Elwood-John H. Glenn.  Their seeding will be determined once all matches have been completed.  This is a strong and well-coached team with high hopes as they look to make a playoff run.

The Phantoms held Southampton to 40 total points in the match.

Bayport-Blue Point will play their final game on the road against Hampton Bays next Monday at 4:30 p.m.