54.0°,
Fog/Mist Lady Rocks win county title
Another year, another banner.
Sophomore outside hitter Gina Skelly had back-to-back kills to close out the third and deciding set as No.1 East Rockaway swept No. 3 Malverne, 25-23, 25-18, 26-24, for its seventh Nassau Class C girls’ volleyball championship in a match played Nov. 8 at SUNY-Old Westbury.
Senior Katie Barto added 17 assists and three kills for the Lady Rocks, who went on to lose a tight Long Island Class C title match to defending champion Mattituck 25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 19-25 at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue last Saturday. Barto had 11 straight service points to lead the Lady Rocks to a win in the opening set, but Mattituck’s size at the net proved to be too much for East Rockaway, which finished 11-6.
First-year coach Ksenia Ferrand was pleased with her team’s performance against Malverne. “We started a little slow, but once we got into the match, we played very well,” Ferrand said. “Sometimes we have to fall behind, before we start to get going. We had a lot of different girls contribute. The girls worked hard for the win. I’m very happy for them, and proud of them.”
With senior Sara Robinson getting it done from the service line and senior captain Amanda Masson controlling the net, the Lady Mules took an 18-8 lead and appeared on the verge of taking the first set.
But back came the Lady Rocks. Becky Italiano, who finished with four aces, four kills and four digs, chased down a ball close to the backline and blindly one-handed it over the net for a crucial point. With momentum on their side, the Lady Rocks rallied to tie the score at 21. Italiano had three straight service points to help them close out the first set.
The second set was all East Rockaway. With senior Lindsey Dinowitz serving well and Barto scoring on a number of crafty dinks, the Lady Rocks ran away with the middle set. Dinowitz finished with six kills in the match.
With Ferrand resting many of her starters, and Malverne playing with desperation, the Lady Mules led for much of the third set. Malverne held a 24-21 lead and was serving for the set.
But that’s where the Lady Rocks thrive. Italiano kept East Rockaway alive with a kill, and then the senior outside hitter had consecutive service winners to tie the set at 24, to set the stage for Skelly’s heroics. Malverne finished with a record of 12-4.
East Rockaway’s road to the final was a little rockier than expected. It dropped the opening set to No. 4 Oyster Bay before rallying for a 22-25, 30-28, 25-20, 25-18 victory in the semifinals. Barto had 17 assists and 11 kills, and Skelly added six aces and five kills.
