The Wildcats had been on the other side before. Last year the Wildcats led 2-0 against Rocky Point before the Eagles stormed back for the win.

"It was heartbreaking," Consorte recalled.

The Wildcats rallied despite a tremendous game from Swiderski, who tallied a school record 23 kills.

Rocky Point coach Cindy Krejci said Swiderski has been playing club volleyball since eighth grade.

"She really knows the game," Krejci said. "She's not our floor captain but I kind of left it that way so there's a little less pressure on her. But she is a captain. She's a leader on the court. She talks to everybody and pushes everybody along."

The Wildcats game-planned to keep the ball away from Swiderski, but she still got her opportunities. She's also a good passer out of the back, Krejci said.

Shoreham improved to 2-4 in League VI while Rocky Point fell to 1-4. After the top three teams in league -- Harborfields, East Hampton and Westhampton -- the next three teams are all of equal skill level. For Shoreham, Rocky Point and Miller Place, it's critical to pick up wins against each other to have a chance for the postseason. Amityville rounds out the division, but the Warriors aren't yet competitive with the rest of the league.

After letting the third set slip away, the Eagles came back strong to start the fourth. They led early, 7-5, before Shoreham ran off five straight points to take the lead, 10-7. They didn't trail the rest of the set.

The Wildcats jumped ahead 11-4 in the final set behind the serves of junior Danielle Landon and sophomore Katie Newell.

"Even as we were up in the fifth game I was still having panic attacks," Consorte said.

Emma Houlihan, one of three freshmen for the Wildcats, recorded five kills and 10 assists. Juniors Sam Villafranca and Amanda Criscito each had seven kills. Senior Meaghan Schellhorn had six kills.

Freshman Maddie Massa moved to a new position in the back row, right side, Consorte said.

"She came out and did unbelievable," she said. "She never played that position before and she did awesome."

Krejci pointed to two areas that led to the Eagles' demise: missed serves and serve receives.

As the match wore on the Eagles were less consistent in both areas, which led to giving away easy points to Shoreham.

"We pass well and we can hit with the best of them, but when we don't do that we have a tough time," Krejci said.

Rocky Point senior Nicole Reany, a solid hitter alongside Swiderski, was limited by an ankle injury she suffered a week earlier. She missed one match while lightly practicing before Friday's match against Shoreham.

"Her timing's a little bit off," Krejci said. "You can see it sometimes when the ball's at the top of the net. She's trying to jump and her timing's just off."

Reany still finished with 10 kills. Junior Mia Lebowitz recorded 23 assists and six aces.

Junior Briana Casazza played libero for Rocky Point, a position the Eagles didn't use the first few games of the season.

"She's really come a long way," Krejci said. "She's always been a decent passer ... Her serve receive was excellent."

The Wildcats travel to East Hampton Friday after a week off and the Eagles face Miller Place at home. It'll be the first meeting between the two schools this year.

joew@northshoresun.com

Add your comments below:

Your name:

Your email:

Subject:


Comments:



Enter text seen above: