Kennedy nets county championship

Kennedy boys’ volleyball head coach Dennis Ringel has sat at the top of the mountain several times before. However, that doesn’t mean getting there again is any less special.

“Winning never gets old, because every year it’s a new group of kids and it’s a new dynamic,” Ringel said. “We always get a great crop of kids, and every year it’s a little different.”

Third-seeded Jericho made sure the No. 1 Cougars’ climb back to the top this time was not an easy one, but in the end failed to prevent Kennedy from taking home its seventh Nassau County boys’ volleyball championship in the last nine years. The Cougars defeated the Jayhawks in four sets (17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20) on Nov. 10 at SUNY-Old Westbury to once again become Class B champions.

This year’s Kennedy crop was led by the senior duo of Josh Levine and Owen Bradley, both of whom played large roles in the team’s title clincher. Tournament MVP Levine had 47 assists, while Bradley contributed 16 kills.

“It’s a great feeling,” Bradley said. “We had this feeling last year when we played Jericho, and we got to feel it again today. We came here to win and we won.”

In the match’s opening stanza, it was Jericho that came out as the sharper and more aggressive club. The Jayhawks ended the first set on a 15-7 run, giving them the early advantage.

“No one came in here expecting to have a sweep either way,” Ringel said. “I knew they would come in with a game plan and execute it, and then we were going to have to make adjustments.”

The Cougars rebounded strong in the second set, and won by eight points to even things up at one. Sophomore Tyler Anderson concluded the frame with a kill after being set up perfectly by Levine.

Kennedy’s biggest scare of the match came late in the third set, when the team found itself down 23-21. Ringel saw his group beginning to spiral and decided to call a timeout.

“He just wanted to get our heads back on straight,” Bradley said. “Coach calls timeouts when he thinks we’re heading in a bad direction. After the timeout, we got right back in our right mindset and right back in the game.”

On the next two plays, Bradley registered kills to tie the game up. The Cougars then picked up the final two points of the set to take the lead in the match. 

The fourth set began close, but Kennedy pulled away late, winning six of the final nine points. Junior Josh Kaplan ended the match with a powerful spike which sailed over the head of two Jayhawks’ players, and moments later the Cougars were all together down on the court floor celebrating in a pile.

“Our players really like each other,” Ringel said. “This hasn’t been a smooth ride by any stretch of the imagination, but they came through it together. They are a group that loves to practice, loves to be around each other, and loves the sport, and it shows.”