Lawrence volleys past Hewlett
As it did during the regular season, Lawrence outlasted visiting Hewlett in a five-set thriller to open the Nassau Class A boys’ volleyball playoffs on Oct. 28.
Senior Stefan Leger had 19 kills and eight blocks, junior Ayal Ciobotaru had 12 kills, sophomore C.J. Borfitz added nine kills and six blocks, and junior A.J. Gallo chipped in eight kills and nine digs as the seventh-seeded Golden Tornadoes prevailed 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-21.
“It was anybody’s match,” Lawrence coach George Klein said. “We went five with them a month ago, so we were expecting it to be tight.”
The Bulldogs, seeded No. 10, were led by seniors Bryan Pae (20 kills), Allen Chiu (30 assists) and Pat Chambers as well as junior Zach Sider. “It was a great match and our guys played amazing,” Hewlett coach Monique Ciccarelli said. “I was very happy with our performance. The kids stepped up when they needed to.”
Klein said controlling the ball better was the difference for the Golden Tornadoes (8-4 in Conference III) in the fifth set after the Bulldogs (5-7) ran away with the fourth to stay alive. “We weren’t patient in the
plan,” he said.
Sparked by Leger and senior setter Jason Gray, who averaged 26 assists, Lawrence won three of its last four regular-season matches to earn a first-round playoff match at home. It advanced to the quarterfinals where it fell in five sets to two-time defending county champion Bellmore-JFK last Monday.
