's girls varsity volleyball team secured the season sweep of their crosstown rivals Pleasantville Wednesday, and they did so in comeback fashion.
After securing a tight 3-2 win over the Panthers earlier in the season, yesterday the Bears were down in the match 2-1 after three games.
Briarcliff trailed in the fourth until turning the tide on Pleasantville by coming up with an impressive late game rally, which carried over into a dominating fifth and deciding game where the Bears controlled things from start to finish en route to a 3-2 (13-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 25-14) victory.
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Briarcliff’s comeback charge was spearheaded by senior co-captain Caroline Brickell, who led Briarcliff with 10 kills and 16 digs. Brickell was instrumental in firing up her teammates, making crucial kills and digs and quieting the rather loud and lively Panthers crowd at .
“It’s so fantastic to beat our rivals, especially with the crowd and everything,” Brickell said. “Hopefully the way we played together today can bring us closer and we can build some momentum off this game.”
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Other major contributors for Briarcliff were junior setter Diana Wexler, who finished with a game-high 22 assists, and Marissa Contento who contributed five kills from the outside and 11 digs. The Bears stayed united as a team despite some adversity, being down and on the road, managing to keep chipping away.
“When we’re having fun out there, joking with each other, that’s when we play at our best I feel,” Contento said. “Our chemistry reflects in our play.”
Pleasantville did have control early in the match behind the solid play of middle blocker Jen Peterson who had a game-high 12 kills and setter Marisa Portanova, who ended the game with 20 assists. The Panthers looked as though they were ready take game four and the win, but unfortunately, just couldn’t manage to hold on.
“I felt as though we were trying to play it safe at the end there and that’s because we know we’ve had a hard time of putting away games in the past,” Pleasantville Head Coach Nancy Neumeister said. “It’s been a frustrating season so far for the girls and me, but we’re at 5-5 and we could be a much better team if we get past our issues with closing out games.”
The Bears host Putnam Valley today at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers will travel to Rye Neck today for a 4:30 p.m. matchup.
