Westhampton Boys Volleyball Team Looks To Return To County Final; Girls Are Transitioning

Head coach Josh Tuttle said his Westhampton Beach boys volleyball team already has a solid foundation. His Hurricanes hope to build off that to make another run at the Suffolk County Championship title this season.

“We have high expectations again this year,” Tuttle said. “We’ve got a big group of returning starters. We expect them to be even bigger contributors this year with a year of experience under the belts.”

And that’s despite the loss of senior outside hitter Hank Scherer and libero Carter Papagni. Returners include senior outside hitters Dan Haber and Josh Aponte, senior middle hitters Joe Green Jr. and Colbie Mason and senior setter Conor Farnan.

Farnan is one of two returning All-County players who the coach said has “done a great job getting the ball to our hitters.” Aponte has been a solid passer, Green Jr. a big blocker and Mason a steady hitter. Junior middle hitter Declan Kerns — a key kill-getter and blocker — is also back.

But most teams know to watch out for the Hurricanes’ other All-County player, Haber, who stifles the competition with his athleticism.

“Not surprisingly, he will be our go-to guy. He can do it all: hitting, passing, serving, blocking. You name it, he can do it,” Tuttle said. “This is Dan’s fourth year on our varsity team, and he has already had a fantastic career and still has this last season to add to his impressive resume.”

Also returning is senior outside hitter Joe Ramos, who missed most of last season due to COVID-19 contact tracing. Sophomore utility player Seth Terry, who is a mainly a defensive specialist, will help to fill the gaps from the starters that graduated. Farnan, Haber, Kerns, and Terry all have older siblings who competed for Westhampton Beach.

“The guys have worked hard over the summer both during our summer sessions and playing beach volleyball. We have a strong foundation from last year, so it’s just a matter of the couple of new guys in the rotation gelling and for us to establish our identity,” Tuttle said prior to the team’s first preseason matchup on Monday. “We are excited for our first scrimmage, so we can try out a couple of different looks to see what works best for us.”

The coach said the team has a tremendous amount of respect for the Eastport/South Manor squad that bested his Hurricanes last season, 3-1 — 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 10-25 — in the Suffolk County title game.

“We have high expectations for ourselves,” said Tuttle, who added he’s looking forward to seeing fan support at games this fall. “ESM is returning its entire starting lineup, so we know that we will have to continue to progress to be able to avenge last year’s loss, but we also expect to have just as much of a shot again this year.”

Because the Westhampton Beach girls volleyball team lost five key players to graduation last season, head coach Jackie Reed said she’s looking for leadership from her returners right from the start. Those include senior utility player Molly Mensch, junior setter Lauren Goss and junior middle hitter Reilly Mahon.

“I will be looking for them to assist with helping the other players in their positions gain knowledge,” Reed said. “We have all been learning our new roles for the last week, and we have some great depth in all areas. We have a nice group of girls returning with the addition of some players that have a ton of court experience, whether on the beach or indoors.”

The coach said she’s currently seeing which newcomers push most for the starting spots, but believes she will have a very athletic team regardless.

“I just think they need to learn how to apply their athleticism and put forth all their love for the sport; to work hard and make good decisions and win some rallies,” Reed said. “I think they are still learning how to gel together on the court. That takes time. It has been extremely hot and playing in this humidity doesn’t allow for full-blown effort.”

While not new to the court, new to the Hurricanes this season is junior varsity coach Eric Ferrante, who played under head coach Bruce Stiriz at Eastport/South Manor and is currently a coach for Club Ace Long Island, a travel program based out of Hofstra University.

“He has a ton of experience with coaching volleyball and a wealth of knowledge with this age group and the game,” Reed said. “His fundamentals are very strong, and I am very excited to see how far he takes this group of talented girls. Our younger group looks very promising for years to come.”

The girls played their first game at home against the Sharks September 1, results of which were not available by press time. The Hurricanes travel to Deer Park September 3 for a 4 p.m. matchup. The boys host Connetquot September 2 at 4:15 p.m., and travel to Hauppauge September 9 for a game with a 5:45 p.m. start time.