Center Moriches girls volleyball ends strong season in state semifinals
Center Moriches' Julia Hromada (17) Erin Baldock (4) and Megan Stypulkowski (11), face off against an unidentified Westhill player in the semifinals of the NYSPHSAA girls volleyball Class B state championship tournament in Glens Falls, N.Y., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. Credit: /Tim Roske
GLENS FALLS — It’s not easy to say goodbye to teammates you’ve been with since elementary school.
Four of the five seniors at Center Moriches have played together on the same travel team since fourth grade with the fifth joining in eighth grade.
Center Moriches made it to the state Class B volleyball semifinals, but lost to Westhill 3-1, (24-26, 25-14, 26-24, 25-15), i at Cool Insuring Arena on Saturday.
“I think that we’ve been playing together for so long,” Megan Franke said. “And this is what we’ve been working for. So, I’m proud of us and how far we made it.”
Center Moriches (17-3) hasn’t won a county title since 2007, so capturing that, a Long Island championship and a trip to the state tournament was a success in the seniors’ eyes.
The Red Devils started off strong, establishing a 4-3 lead in set one that they didn’t surrender until a 19-19 tie. Although losing the lead 24-23, they pulled ahead to win 26-24.
But they wouldn’t win another set. Westhill earned a 3-2 lead in the second set, and besides a 12-12 tie, Westhill went on a roll to even the set score.
Westhill initially lost its groove in the third set as Center Moriches garnered a 6-5 lead which it didn’t give up until a 24-24 tie. The Red Devils went up 24-18, but Westhill went on a 8-0 runto win 26-24.
“We were definitely exhausted,” Julia Hromada said of the team entering the fourth set. “But we had to keep telling each other to keep working and keep pushing. Like ‘I know we’re tired, but we have to keep doing what we’re doing, so we can reach that goal that we want to achieve.’”
Seniors Hromada, Franke, Megan Stypulkowski, Cailey White and Izzy Rayburn each say farewell to the Center Moriches’ girls volleyball program, but left the underclassmen with a winning foundation.
Rayburn said the trip to the state semifinals gives the underclassmen something to work toward in the years ahead.
“I think that it shows them what they have to look forward to and how fun this experience was for us,” Rayburn said. “So, they know what that experience is like, so that they can work for it next year.
