Long Beach wins host tourney

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While some Long Beach residents are still spending Saturdays on the boardwalk, the girls’ volleyball team is making the most of their time competing in tournaments.

Last week, the Lady Marines followed up a pair of Conference AA-I victories by winning their annual host tourney behind senior outside hitter Gabby Ayzenberg, who took home MVP honors of the eight-team event. She and sophomore Grace Rosenberg led the way past South Side in the semifinals and Lawrence in the finals.

“Our goal is the same every year, and that’s to get to the county final match where anything can happen,” said coach Kerri Rehnback, who guided Long Beach to the Nassau Class A title in 2013. “Our defense has improved so much from last year,” she added. “Our overall defense and serving are the strong points.”

It marked the second straight Saturday in which the Lady Marines won a tournament. One week earlier, they traveled to Suffolk County and beat Ward Melville in the finals of the Smithtown East tourney. “We still have three more trips to Suffolk,” said Rehnback, noting upcoming tournaments at John Glenn, Lindenhurst and Smithtown West.

After spending the past five seasons playing in Nassau Class A, winning one county crown and challenging for several others, Long Beach is back with the large schools and renewing rivalries with the likes of perennial powerhouse Massapequa, Baldwin and East Meadow. “I enjoy the challenge of facing the best,” Rehnback said. “We played Massapequa tough the first time around. I was really pleased. It’s not impossible to think we can hang with them.”

After suffering a heartbreaking 28-26 loss in the first set against visiting Massapequa on Sept. 16, and dropping the second set, the Lady Marines rallied to win the third set before falling in four. “I thought we gave a good account of ourselves,” Rehnback said.  

Long Beach (4-1) responded with sweeps of Syosset and Port Washington last week. Rosenberg’s 18 assists led a 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 win over Syosset on Sept. 21, while senior Natalie Swegler handed out 20 assists in last Friday’s victory over Port Washington.

Rosenberg and Swegler run the 6-2 offense that’s spearheaded by Ayzenberg, an All-State selection in 2015. “Gabby is our go-to hitter and she has all the tools,” Rehnback said of Ayzenberg. “She’s a four-year starter and is working hard on defense. Offensively, she’s so powerful.”

Rosenberg is the team’s No. 2 hitter and leader in service aces. “She has an incredible arm swing and jumping ability,” Rehnback said.

Swegler’s calm demeanor — she’s a captain along with Ayzenberg — keeps the Lady Marines from unraveling in pressure situations, the coach noted. Senior Tara Steiner is a reliable middle hitter, senior middle Margaret O’Malley-Rebovich is the team’s most improved player, and junior Paulina Cardona is a dedicated outside hitter making a solid contribution.

Defensively, sophomore libero Kathleen Verastegui has potential to be one of the best in the county, Rehnback said. “She played great in last year’s playoffs,” she said. “She covers the whole court.” Junior Kelly McDonagh provides a defensive spark, and senior Ruany Soca does the same from the service line.