Lady Cyclones rally into finals

South Side’s girls’ volleyball team is at home on the road.

The No. 2-seeded Lady Cyclones have won eight consecutive matches away from the friendly confines of the South Side High School gymnasium, and their latest was a thrilling 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19 victory Nov. 4 over No. 6 Herricks in the Nassau Class A semifinals. 

South Side sophomore right-side hitter Kayla Principato notched a team-high 17 kills, while junior middle hitter Allison Glass added 14 kills and 22 digs to lead the Lady Cyclones (17-3) to victory and a date with top-seeded, defending county champion Wantagh in the title match Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at SUNY-Old Westbury.

“They were our players of the game,” Lady Cyclones coach Cheryl Scalice said of Principato and Glass. “Not only did Kayla have the most kills for us, she also had the most blocks, and Allison was hitting the ball harder than anyone else on the court.” The Lady Cyclones were also boosted by stellar performances from senior Grace Healey (six blocks) and junior Deanna Mostowfi (22 digs.)

South Side had beaten Herricks twice in the regular season, but the Lady Highlanders have grown leaps and bounds over the course of the year. Herricks stunned No. 3 Bellmore-JFK just three days earlier, so South Side knew it couldn’t be taken lightly. After splitting the first two sets, the Lady Highlanders pulled away in the third stanza when senior outside hitter Paige Barnaby snuck a roll shot over the net to give her team a 23-22 advantage. Herricks senior middle hitter Kim Givelechian followed up Barnaby’s tactical kill with a diving dig to keep a ball alive on the following point, and the Lady Highlanders would go on to take the third frame, 25-22.

Down two sets to one, Scalice told her players if they were going to lose, they better go down swinging. “You can’t play it safe and expect to win,” Scalice said. “You have to mix up your offense, but it’s time to start swinging when your back is against the wall.”

The Lady Cyclones followed their coach’s advice, as they won the fourth and fifth sets by taking big risks with acrobatic, high-flying swings. South Side opened a 20-15 lead in the deciding frame when Glass smashed a thunderous strike over the net, which Herricks could not return. Principato widened the gap to 23-17 just moments later with a convincing kill that quieted the crowd of over 300 Herricks fans who were packed into the bleachers. The Lady Highlanders regained possession of the serve, but a six-point deficit towards the end of the match would prove to be too much to overcome. South Side junior Emma Paris (31 assists) was the game-changer in the final set, as her precisely placed passes consistently set up Glass for monstrous kills.

On Nov. 1, Principato and Glass helped South Side eliminated No. 7 Long Beach, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round. In that match, Principato tallied 16 kills and six blocks, while Glass chipped in with 11 kills.