Pierson/Bridgehampton Girls Volleyball Is in Line for First Postseason Berth Since 2019

If all goes according to plan, the Pierson/Bridgehampton girls volleyball team should find itself back in the Suffolk County Class C playoffs.

The Whalers need to win two of their final four remaining games, a stretch that began on Tuesday afternoon at Babylon. If they can do that, they will finish the season the prerequisite .500 record in order to qualify, ending a short three-year absence from postseason play. Pierson reached the state tournament in 2019.

Of course, head coach Hilary Rewinski, coaching Pierson for the first time this season after coaching the past two years at nearby Southampton, expects her team to win out the remaining games on its schedule following Babylon, with matches against Greenport/Southold, Smithtown Christian and Ross.

“It’s definitely a reachable goal,” Rewinski said on Monday afternoon. “I was actually looking back at the first half of our schedule after we had seen each team once and realized if we could duplicate that we were playoff bound, which is really nice to see. I’m hoping we can do that and we think that we can.”

Pierson took care of business last week at Shelter Island, earning a 3-0 victory with set scores of 25-10, 25-14, 25-18. Rewinski said it was nice having her team back at full strength after missing a few players for the 3-0 loss at Port Jefferson on September 30.

“It was nice to see them all back playing again as a team,” Rewinski noted.

The head coach also said that senior Grace Flanagan has been excelling in both the front and back rows this season, showing off her skills as a great passer while also executing offensively. She finished last week’s win with a team-high seven kills.

Rewinski has also been impressed with senior setter Ashley Weatherwax, who finished last week’s victory with eight service aces.

“Her ability to run all over the court and still get a good setup to one of our hitters has been key,” she said.

Rewinski has also appreciated the hard work of the Kolhoff sisters, Helena, a junior, and Alex, a sophomore. Helena, Rewinski said, is a middle blocker, but has the ability to come out of the front row and play a bit in the back to provide stability on defense, something she’s worked into her game just this season. Alex, meanwhile, was a force at Shelter Island, finishing with six kills, which was impressive, Rewinski said, being that she did that only playing in the front row in two of the three games.

As for Rewinski and her transition from Southampton to Sag Harbor, it’s been an easy one, she said, since she works in the same building as her student-athletes since she’s a special education math and science teacher.

“I have such a great group of players who are super helpful, and I work in the building and even teach some of the girls, so I am able to actually be in the same classes with some of them and we’ll do the homework together or work on something,” she explained. “It’s just nice to be in the same building with the players to be able to make those connections that you wouldn’t have otherwise.”

After a pair of matches on the road at Greenport/Southold and Smithtown Christian, Pierson will end the regular season at home against Ross on October 19 at 6:15 p.m.