Greenport/Southold sweeps Mattituck to reach Suffolk Class C volleyball final

Greenport/Southold’s best girls volleyball season in at least a generation continued in fine fashion on Monday.

In a battle of North Fork rivals, the Porters swept Mattituck at home to reach the Suffolk County Class C finals for the second straight season.

The Porters won the first two sets by identical 25-23 scores before clinching the third, 25-19.

“We’ve always had a rivalry,” Greenport senior co-captain Abbi Bednoski said. “I’m friends with the girls off the court. Then we get on the court and we don’t speak whatsoever. Just coming out on top against our rivals means a lot to me. We put in a lot of work to get here and to really pull through.”

Greenport (14-2) will meet defending champion Port Jefferson (20-1) — the only team to beat the Porters this year — for the title at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6:30 p.m.

The first two sets on Monday offered everything a volleyball aficionado could want: lead changes, great comebacks by both squads, long rallies, game-saving defensive plays, aces and kills in front of an enthusiastic afternoon crowd of about 150.

“It’s so much more fun. I feel like everybody does better when it’s intense and when everybody’s loud, when there’s a big crowd,” senior co-captain Riley Whitecavage said.

The first set had seven lead changes before senior Caroline Woods recorded a kill for the winning point.

“We just had a lot of energy,” Woods said.

“We really all worked together well to come back,” added freshman Lyla Zablotny, who finished with a team-high 14 kills. That included the winning kill in the second set.

Bednoski dominated the third set with several of her 10 kills.

“Our momentum from the first two sets really carried over into the third set,” she said. “We just had fun. We made smarter decisions. We weren’t really so focused on getting every point because we had a little bit of a lead.”

Freshman Lauryn Bednoski contributed 24 assists and eight digs.

“All seven girls really stood out,” head coach Martin Maningo said. “I thought Lauryn’s decision making in these tough, intense moments where she made the right decisions at was just a huge momentum swing. We talk about being a smart player. She really showed it as our setter. Caroline Woods had a great block at the net in the third set. That kind of just sealed the game for us.”

The Tuckers (9-7) lost all three of their matches to Greenport this season.

“It’s tough,” head coach Jeff Hauser said. “I think that we are a very evenly matched team. We just made more mistakes than they did. The first two sets were decided by two points. That’s what volleyball is. You’ve got to keep going. You got to keep pushing through.”

Port Jefferson have been a juggernaut, dropping only five sets all season, including just two against Class B and C teams. Their only match loss was to Ward Melville, seeded third in the Class AAA tournament.

The Porters know they will have their work cut out for them.

“We just need to clean up a few things and work on … fighting for every ball, every point,” Woods said.

Her teammates agreed.

“We need to practice really hard at a fast pace, and we need to not make silly mistakes,” Zablotny said. “We just need to just play really smart.”

Added Whitecavage: “We have to focus on [their] fast pace and being able to read better, look at their hands, see where they’re going because they’re good at spots. We need to make sure that we cover our spots and communicate with each other.”

The Porters have lost to Port Jefferson six times over the last two seasons.

“We lost to them in the championship last year and we know how that feels. We don’t want that to happen again,” Maningo said. “A majority of these girls over the past two years have seen Port Jeff, seen how outstanding they are. That’s exactly what we’re going to work on in practice; find those right places to hit them.”

Regardless of what transpires in the final, this has been a season to cherish.

“We absolutely know how amazing the season has been,” Maningo said. “To finish the regular season 13-2, to beat Mattituck in three straight sets, it’s just a huge momentum builder. Before a few of these girls go away to college, it’s a remarkable way to end their high school careers.”