Skylar Sams notches 500th dig, launches P.C. volleyballers on four-game winning streak

October 9, 2024 at 11:28 p.m.

Port Chester High School junior Skylar Sams joined the 500 club after hitting her 500th dig against White Plains on Sept. 24. (Courtesy photo of Aimee Morabito)

The sky is the limit for the Lady Rams volleyball team of late, and junior hotshot Skylar Sams has a lot to do with assisting in that rise, 500 digs to be exact, because dig she must and she has, scooping the ball up before it hits the ground, her hands cupped so they resemble a tennis racquet as they send the near basketball-sized volleyball high into the air in what amounts to a pass to her teammates. And those passes have resulted in a lot of scores and Ws, four in a row in the past week or so.

And, coincidentally, that winning streak started with Sky's 500th career dig.

Sky's uplifting dig

That historic dig came during a 3-0 win over White Plains on Sept. 24.

And the team must have really dug it.

Because they promptly took off on a series of 3-0 shutouts.

And that isn't easy because those shutouts that followed after White Plains came against Lincoln, Spring Valley and Fox Lane.

And while all Ws count the same, whether you win ugly or win pretty, some of those Ws stand out more than others.

Fox Lane, for example, is a perennial league powerhouse.

Outfoxing the Foxes

"I was extremely proud of my team after the Fox Lane game," head coach Stephanie Costabile said after that game. "Fox lane has always been a strong competitor. The girls worked as a team, never letting their energy drop while they kept fighting for every point. The girls put a lot of work in the gym and for the results to be seen in important games is very rewarding for them. Like I said, I am extremely proud of the team and the way they are working hard to finish the season strong."

And while she stresses that the latest win streak has been a team effort, there have been some especially strong individual standouts.

Seniors Nataly Suertegaray and Camila Nunez, for example, have emerged as the leading point scorers offensively as pin hitters. So has senior Alicia Bambace who has been contributing to the point scoring with her hits as well as her serves. And Sams has been digging away defensively picking up balls while proving to be a very consistent serve receiver.

All of which becomes very important because the first team to reach 25 points wins a set and the best three of five set winners takes the match.

Lady Rams key vballers

So team play is the key to the Ws, and the Lady Rams have been getting strong contributions from up and down the roster that includes Alyssa Gagnon, Emilia Garcia, Sofia Greco, Kayla Guayllasaca, Karah Provenzano, Amelie Reis, Gianna Sirena, Analia Sosa and Julia Wolff.

Watching them play together is like watching a beautifully synchronized tennis match, only the cupped hands are used like tennis racquets, lobbing the ball up in the air like a pass to a hotshot soaring to send the ball over a high tennis net, setting up what can be a series of returns from the rival team. Until what looks like a prolonged choreographed volley of back-and-forth shots, of diving saves and precision passes, results in a score leading up to point, set and match.

Done right, it can be a beautiful athletic dance to watch. And Costabile has the Lady Rams doing it right. And on a roll with their next home matches scheduled for Wednesday (10/16) against Horace Greeley at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday (10/19) against Ramapo at 10 a.m. Dig they must if they want to keep on winning. And the sky is their collective limit. Especially with Skylar Sams at 500 digs and counting.