‘We play for Ms. Pickering’: Tuckers girls’ volleyball rallies for emotional win

Kelly Pickering was in the Mattituck High School gymnasium on Wednesday in both mind and spirit for the girls’ volleyball team’s season-opening match.

“Every opportunity we can get, we’re playing for her,” junior right-side hitter Riley Richert said after the Tuckers defeated Pierson/Bridgehampton in their Suffolk County League VIII encounter. “We don’t play for ourselves.  We play for Ms. Pickering.”

The Tuckers did, winning 25-21, 25-10, 25-22.

Pickering passed away on Feb. 15 at age 49. Coach Pick, as she was affectionately called by her players, was a longtime guidance counselor at Cutchogue East Elementary School.

The Tuckers have dedicated their season to Pickering.

“I think that is so sweet and I’m not surprised because Kelly gave so much to the program,” said her wife Jeanine Graviano, who attended the match with her son. “She was all in with all the girls. There was a mutual respect between all of them. They just want to carry that through.”

Graviano said that “walking into the gym was overwhelming, especially not seeing her because you feel her absence even more.”

But she quickly felt at home as her son played with parents and friends.

“All the reminders that he has that bring it all back to Kelly for him, which is nice, but definitely overwhelming,” she said. “But grateful that everyone is still keeping us part of the program and the community is continuing to wrap their arms around us and support us.”

That will continue at the inaugural Kelly Pickering Memorial Volleyball Tournament on Sept. 26. Greenport, Riverhead, Shoreham-Wading River, Miller Place, Southampton, Shelter Island and Mattituck will compete.

“It’ll definitely be a strong, positive energy built around everything she loves and everything she would want,” said Graviano, who met with the team afterwards. “Everything is always for the kids.”

No one understands that more than Jeff Hauser, who recorded his first win as a head coach. But he admitted that it came with “some mixed emotions.”

“I’m happy that we won,” he said. “I think it’s great. Me being here, the circumstances are not ideal. Any time that we go out there, I preach it to the girls; we’re playing for more than ourselves. We’re playing for something a little bit bigger. I feel like we have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder to prove what we can do.

“Not just me as a coach or these guys as players, but as a program. Turning over a new leaf in a sense and trying to navigate through this together. It’s amazing. Had a lot of people here supporting me tonight; it’s really awesome.”

On and off the court.

Volleyball is the ultimate team sport because every participant winds up in the middle of the action. When a team has players who can turn serves into challenging return shots, it becomes a huge advantage.

“A lot of service errors can determine the entire game,” senior outside hitter Mallory Meier said. “We did a good job with that.”

In the first set, the Tuckers turned an 18-17 deficit, with Meier recording six consecutive points to take a 28-18 lead.

“I think for losing half of our starting lineup [to graduation], we did really good,” Richert said. “We covered very well. Our hits were good. Mallory’s serves were amazing.”

Then again, so were Richert’s.

In the second set, Richert recorded nine consecutive points to transform a 5-5 tie into a 14-5 advantage. Meier then proceeded to register six successive points, winning off serves for a 20-7 advantage.

“We really dialed in on our serves,” Richert said. “I know that the other team probably tried to call a timeout, tried to ice us out. But we stayed locked in.”

Pierson enjoyed a 19-16 lead in the third set before Mattituck rallied to win.

“We really wanted to win our first game because we need to show that we’re still a strong team no matter what happens to us,” said junior libero Lizzie Fohrkolb, who stood out in an extremely active match.

“I think we might be a better team than last year,” she added about the 2025 squad that reached the Class B final. “We have all the people. We’re just going to keep getting better. It’s been hard without our seniors and our coach, but we’re really just trying to keep the legacy going.”

Especially for Coach Pick.