Hampton Bays Girls Volleyball Team Falls to Hills West in Suffolk County Semifinal

Although Mia Schoerlin was stepping off the volleyball court for the last time Saturday, the Hampton Bays senior was beaming with pride. And she had every right to be. Not only did her No. 5 Baymen make it back to the playoffs after some milestone makers the last two seasons, her team took a set from top-seeded Half Hollow Hills West, and stayed within striking distance the entire way, falling, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 25-15, in the Suffolk County Class A semifinal played at Half Hollow Hills East High School.

“I think my team gave it our best effort and we fought hard the entire time,” Schoerlin said. “And I’m stunned by how far the team has come. Every season, we have put in so much work and I’m really happy to see it paying off.”

The senior said if you’d asked her six years ago, when she joined the varsity team, she’d never guess that the Baymen would be co-champions of a tough League VI with larger schools than they’ve ever competed against before, let alone make their second straight Suffolk County semifinal appearance.

But they did. The Baymen turned 4-10 and 5-10 showings in 2019 and 2020 into winning records the following three seasons. Hampton Bays bounced back from a 9-6 campaign in 2021 to win their first seven straight contest last season, where the Baymen finished, 14-5, after a Suffolk County Class B championship loss to rival Bayport-Blue Point. It was the program’s first appearance in the title game since 2009. Hampton Bays even avenged that loss with a 3-1 win over the Phantoms this season, the first in over a decade.

Hampton Bays Athletic Director John Foster said he knows exactly how this team was able to see so much success.

“They put in so many hours in the offseason and it really paid off,” he said. “I’m really, really proud of this coaching staff and this team. These girls brought the whole community together — especially those seniors.”

Head coach Andy Fotopoulos said he knew when the group was in middle school that they had the talent to do great things.

“I knew this would be a special group. They’re volleyball players. We have the hitters to compete with anyone,” he said. “And we were right there. They fought hard. I knew we had a shot, we just made a couple of errors, which you can’t against a team like this.”

Hampton Bays kept things close in the opening set, knotting it eight different times, the last being at 13-13, before Hills West went on a 7-2 run. Junior middle blocker Asha-Pensa Johnson (16 kills, 10 digs, six blocks) slammed down a spike that was returned out of bounds and senior middle blocker Nellie Nicolova (five kills, five digs, three assists, two blocks) made it 23-20 on an ace, but it was as close as the Baymen would come.

“We still competed and aimed to finish each set strong,” Nicolova said. “Knowing that each set was close kept us wanting it even more. It was right there and in our hands.”

The second set proved to be much like the first, though the Colts maintained a three-to-four-point lead before pulling away to a 19-3 lead. Hampton Bays scored five straight to close up the gap again on a Brianna Valderrama kill, to 19-18, and Pensa-Johnson recorded points off a tip and a block to bring the score to 24-21, but the Baymen’s efforts weren’t enough.

“I feel like even though we could have won, I’m content with the way we played,” said senior outside hitter Tania Quiros.

That third set opened the team’s eyes to just how it stacked up against the Colts. Down 7-4 early, Quiros (19 digs, 12 kills, three aces) slammed the ball into an empty hole after Scoerlin (12 digs) and junior setter Julia Brandes (10 digs, nine assists, one kill) came up with some big gets, and served up the next point to tie the third at 10-10. From there, the two teams traded the lead until Schoerlin’s kill knotted things at 12-12, and after that, the Baymen hit cruise control, going on a 7-2 spurt for a 19-14 advantage. Pensa-Johnson recorded a kill and Schoerlin an ace before Hills West made four straight errors to close it out.

“I think the communication and energy really helped us on those runs,” Schoerlin said. “We played smart, and we hustled for every point and worked as a team. I really felt like we deserved to win that one, and it definitely gave us confidence and motivated us to keep fighting.”

Hampton Bays went up, 4-1, to start the fourth, but the Colts tied it five times before taking an 11-10 lead on an ace that Hills West eventually turned into a 20-13 advantage.

“I thought we had a little momentum when we got ahead early, but where we always break down is serve receive,” Fotopoulos said. “We had to focus a little more, shoring up our defense and our passing. We’re not a great passing team, and that’s where it hurts us.”

Nicolova said the journey the team has been on and the impact it’s made is more than enough for her.

“I’m so grateful to have made a mark with my team,” she said. “We have a new league championship banner coming to show how much dedication and effort the team and our coaches put in, and I’m happy to be a part of this semifinal moment that makes the next Hampton Bays varsity volleyball teams crave even more.”

Schoerlin said she’s also honored to have been part of an emergent program that has received a tremendous amount of community support. The senior said it’s only a sign of even bigger things to come.

“I’m so unbelievably proud of my team and how far we have come,” Schoerlin said. “I love seeing the younger girls at our games and showing interest in the sport. The crowd that comes to our games is also a big part of the energy we bring onto the court; knowing that there are so many people supporting us is really great and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future. Being a part of the Hampton Bays volleyball team has been so meaningful to me. It has made such a big impact on my life, and I couldn’t have asked for better coaches and a better group of girls to finish off my six years of volleyball with.”