DiCocco, Burst Lead Lady Phantoms

Lady Phantoms' head coach Toni Mulgrave summed up her team's play in one word: "Consistency."

The Bayport-Blue Point girls varsity volleyball team (5-2, 6-2) quickly dispatched the Hampton Bays Lady Baymen, 3-0, with a consistent performance throughout, winning the games 25-11, 25-17 and 25-13.

"They worked as a team today. They stayed aggressive and that was a big key for us today," said Mulgrave.

The success of the Lady Phantoms was dependent on solid performances by the team's two middle hitters, Arielle DiCocco and Colleen Burst.

The duo allowed the Lady Phantoms to build leads early in all three games, forcing the Baymen (3-4, 3-5) to play from behind early and often.

"Our two middles are a big part of our program," said Mulgrave. "[DiCocco] hits the ball really clean and in different spots. It really keeps the defense off guard. Her and Colleen really keeping us focused."

Net presence was a key factor in the win as well. Burst finished off the first game with five consecutive points, three of which were finished off by thunderous spikes by DiCocco.

Early in the second game, with the Lady Baymen serving down 6-5, Burst came up with a tremendous block at the net, which seemed to suck any life out of Hampton Bays, and restore confidence in the Bayport lineup.

The Lady Phantoms jumped out to a big lead in game three as well and never looked back, leading by as much as 10 late in the game.

After dropping their first two matches, the girls have rebounded to win their last six. Next up for the Lady Phantoms is the undefeated John Glenn Knights, who defeated the Phantoms in the season opener, 3-0, but Mulgrave didn't seem too worried about their next matchup.

"If we can minimize careless errors and keep the ball in play, I think we'll give ourselves a good chance. If [DiCocco and Burst] have a good game then who knows what could happen."