54.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Seaford tops Lynbrook for volleyball title
Top-seeded Seaford continued its reign atop Nassau Class B girls’ volleyball on Nov. 7, beating a familiar foe to claim a third consecutive county title. The senior-led Lady Vikings got 14 kills and seven blocks from Jessica Rini, 18 digs and nine kills from Emma Schait, and 19 digs from Theresa Angelisto in a 25-11, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18 victory over No. 3 Lynbrook at SUNY-Old Westbury.
“It’s exciting,” Seaford coach Marie Savage said. “Our girls have a lot of experience in big matches.
“Lynbrook does a nice job of hitting from the outside, so we wanted to cover the lines as well as we could,” she added. “In general our defense usually leads us, but the way Jessica and Emma were hitting and how well Erin [Russell] passed, the offense was our strongest part today.”
Russell, a sophomore, handed out 34 assists, and junior Jenna Leoardi added four kills including the title-clinching point. The Lady Owls, who split regular-season matches with Seaford, were led by senior libero Nicole Milillo’s 22 digs. Sophomore Lara LoIacono had a team-high 12 kills, while junior setters Emma Carey (20) and Ciara Gordon combined for 37 assists.
“The second and third games we played like we’re capable of playing,” Lynbrook coach Vanessa Jeremenko said. “The first game I thought nerves got the best of us, and in the fourth game we played a little scared.
“We’ve got a young team and had a great season,” she added. “We’ve gotten better every year for the last three years.”
The Lady Vikings dominated the opening set behind Schait and Angelisto, but the Lady Owls got their offense going in the second set with Carey and Gordon spreading the court with fine passing. Sophomore Shannon Wren had a hand in each of the last three points, killing two and serving one, as Lynbrook pulled even.
Unlike the first two sets, the third was back and forth. Clinging to a 21-20 lead, Seaford got some breathing room with a Leonardi kill and an Angelisto ace. After LoIacono closed the gap with a kill, smashes by Schait and Rini gave the Lady Vikings a 2-1 lead in games.
