Oyster Bay girls volleyball's Tess Egan, Nicole Gatti lead way in Long Island Class B final
Oyster Bay wins the Long Island Class B girls volleyball championship in Wantagh on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
When Tess Egan is in her zone, there’s no stopping her.
The junior middle hitter had five kills late in the third set to lead Oyster Bay to a 25-16, 25-22, 28-26 victory over Center Moriches in the Long Island Class B girls volleyball championship/Southeast Region final at Wantagh High School on Friday night.
“We lost to them last year in five sets, so we knew they were beatable,” said Egan, who totaled 10 kills and four blocks. “We just had the momentum and energy. Once we got the energy and got louder, we knew we would make less mistakes. And in that moment, the team that made less mistakes would win.”
Three consecutive kills by Nicole Gatti (15 kills) gave Oyster Bay a 7-3 lead in the third set. Center Moriches’ Erin Baldock (10 kills) traded kills with Gatti. Sidney Lennon of Center Moriches earned a block and a kill to tie the score at 14.
Baldock added a kill and an ace to give Center Moriches a 22-20 lead. But Egan responded with three straight kills to tie the score at 24. Her fourth straight kill gave the Baymen the 25-24 lead.
Guiliana Versacci added a kill to tie the score at 26 for Center Moriches before Egan smacked down fourth and final kill.
“We do a little handshake, ‘tick, tick, boom’ after each kill and it really brings our energy up,” Egan said. “That’s when we’re unstoppable.”
Seven kills from Gatti helped the Colts take a 17-9 lead in the first set. Baldock blocked the next point, but Egan followed with a block for the Baymen. Oyster Bay then went on a 7-6 run capitalized by back-to-back kills from Isabella Rizzuto to end the set.
Center Moriches had a 12-10 lead in the second set until things started to click for Oyster Bay. The Baymen earned their first lead on three consecutive errors and a block by Egan gave them a 16-15 lead. Baldock, who earned her 300th career point, had multiple kills in the second set win.
Oyster Bay (10-9) advances to pool play of the state Class B semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
“I’m so excited for this team because they’ve worked so hard this season and a three set sweep is no easy feat,” coach Jennifer Ilnes said. “They’re going to continue this energy in states and we’ll see how far they go.”
