Girls Volleyball Topples Undefeated Herricks In Conference Finale

The Port Washington girls volleyball team took down the undefeated Herricks in a thriller for the ages with the score 25-27, 25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 25-21. The Vikings and the Highlanders have identical records and finished the regular season in a tie for the Conference AA-II championship (15-1).

Hero: Rarely, in any sport, do head coaches take their star players out only to put them back in and see a positive result from the entire team. Head coach Steve Park decided to take out senior outside hitter Kristen Courage in an attempt to rekindle the Port squad early in the second game.

"I took her out because she's one of the screws that holds the machine together –machine being team. If she's loose and shaky, that whole thing is going to fall apart," Park said. "She was getting very frustrated, I can see it in her face after all these years and I told her, 'If we don't have you, our entire team is going to fold.'"

With tears of joy in her eyes as she left the locker room, it was apparent that beating Herricks was a prime goal of the three-year varsity player. 

"I just wanted to tell you, you're a great player, you played a great game, and you have great heart out there," said a middle-aged fan to Courage after the contest was over.

Turning Point: Port dropped the third set by a score of 25-18 to Herricks. Yet the Vikings rose to the challenge. Relying on the heavy Schreiber contingent, Port Washington took the fourth. The score was tied 15-15 and 20-20 in the fifth. However, Port Washington would pull ahead winning five of the next six points and thus claiming the victory.

Bottom Line: The Vikings showed they could stick with a top notch opponent. Every member of the bench was on her feet and every person in the stands arguably felt the excitement. Port Washington didn't let the pressure get to them in the final home game of the season. The Vikings will look to take this momentum into the playoffs.

Quotable: "If we had lost that game, it would have given us motivation, but the win gives us fire," said Courage. "I think that game [against Herricks] spoke to what we could do to the legacy we're leaving here at Schreiber."

Who's Next: Port will likely take on Hicksville in an away playoff match on November 2 – time has yet to be announced.

Girls Volleyball Conference AA-II

Team.........................1........2......3......4.....5   -  F

Herricks....................27....19....25....20....21  -  2

Port Washington....25....25....18....25....25   -  3