Girls Volleyball: Triumphant Tuckers dig their pink shirts
TUCKERS 25, 25, 25, MARINERS 21, 19, 22
Thursday was a pink out at Mattituck High School.
For one match, the Mattituck girls volleyball team traded in its traditional blue and gold uniforms for hot pink shirts. The occasion was a Dig Pink match to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
In recognition of the event, the Tuckers donned the pink shirts with black lettering that read on the front, “Who Says Girls Can’t Fight?” A ribbon was used in place of the “I” in the last word. One of the team’s starting setters, Carly Doorhy, designed the shirts.
Meanwhile, the school’s gym was decorated with handmade signs and pink and red balloons, lending a festive atmosphere to the occasion.
Before the match against Southampton, the Tuckers lined up on the court, facing the fans in the stands, and each one of them in turn stepped forward and announced who they were playing for. One of the Tuckers, libero Julia Orlando, played for her mother, Tracey, who is battling breast cancer and watched as her daughter’s serving helped the Tuckers close out the first half of their season with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 win.
The Tuckers (5-5, 3-3 in Suffolk County League VII) started all three games slowly, trailing by 20-13 in the first game, 8-3 in the second game and 21-20 in the third game before rallying.
Orlando changed the course of the first game with her no-spin serving, which helped her pick up 9 service aces. She put 22 of her 24 serves in play.
It took some time for Mattituck’s hitting game to kick into gear, but when it did, Emilie Reimer was virtually unstoppable, delivering fierce drives. Reimer, regarded as one of the top hitters in the league, clearly started feeling it about midway through the second game. She put away 10 kills to go with 2 blocks, 2 assists and 1 dink.
Doorhy was steady throughout the match, supplying her side with 17 assists.
Southampton (0-6, 0-6) received 5 aces from Lexi Rusko.
