Eastport-South Manor boys volleyball defeats Ward Melville in straight sets

Ayden DesLauriers has been widely regarded as one of the top outside hitters on Long Island since his sophomore season.

Now a senior, the Loyola Chicago commit is ready to lead the Eastport-South Manor boys volleyball team back to the state tournament.

DesLauriers totaled 22 kills, 14 digs, two blocks and an assist in the Sharks’ 27-25, 25-23, 25-21 win over visiting Ward Melville on Thursday.

Both teams entered the match undefeated and Ward Melville – the reigning Long Island Division I champs – threw the first punch, opening up a 15-6 lead in the first set. Led by heavy-hitting Penn State commit Kyle Fagan, the Patriots overpowered ESM early on.

But once the Sharks got their stellar defense sorted out, they went on the hunt. DesLauriers had three kills and a block in an 11-2 run that gave ESM a 19-18 lead.

“[Coach Bill] Kropp wants us to stay under eight errors per set and we’ve been able to keep the errors under that number all season,” DesLauriers said. “The goal is to have as much ball control as we can. We work on a lot of defense and serve receive because we know we can hit, but if our hitting percentage isn’t there, we can rely on our defense.”

DesLauriers and Fagan traded spectacular kills all match in an incredible hitting display. Fagan totaled 26 kills, but ESM never shied away from one of his thunderous swings.

Jack Cain had two blocks and Andrew Dragos had 11 digs, robbing Fagan of a few kills.

“We don’t get startled by anybody on the other side of the net,” junior middle blocker Cain said. “Even in practice, I’ll chirp at Ayden all the time. I just go into every game thinking I’m the best player and that mindset gets me through anything.”

Shaun Mischler had five kills and an ace and Eddie Shields had two kills, three blocks and an ace for Ward Melville (9-1). Cain had 10 kills and an ace, Dragos had five kills, Ralph Betner had 33 assists and 11 digs for ESM (11-0).

“This was huge. This was like a heavyweight championship fight,” Kropp said. “We probably should’ve lost the first set, but our hustle and our defense got us to a better point.”

After winning a state title as a freshman in 2021, DesLauriers has led the Sharks to the Suffolk Division II title match each of the last two years. But they came up short both times.

What’s different this season? The development of Cain and Dragos as reliable scorers has taken some pressure off DesLauriers and made the Sharks tougher to defend.

“Last year, I was hitting a ton of back row balls,” DesLauriers said. “Jack and Dragos come in when I’m in the back row and it takes so much pressure off me because it’s tough to guess who’s gonna get the ball.”