Wantagh prevails in five-set thriller

Mental toughness and clutch plays propelled Wantagh to its first state volleyball title in 17 years.

The Lady Warriors dug deep to pull out a roller-coaster five-set win in the state Class A final against Niagara Wheatfield last Sunday afternoon that epitomized their historic championship run. The clinching point in a 23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 26-24, 28-26 triumph at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls took 23 seconds and ended when Katie Steele hit the ball off a defender before it bounced to the floor.

“They were truly unbreakable,” Wantagh head coach Dan O’Shea said after his team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to bring home the program’s first state crown since it won the Class B championship in 2001. “They have the biggest heart of anyone I have ever seen.”

The five-set marathon marked the third win in Wantagh’s championship run to be decided in a fifth set. The Lady Warriors punched their first ticket to the states since 2010 by capturing the final three sets against Kings Park in the Long Island Class A finals on Nov. 11, after falling behind 2-0. Its Nassau County title victory three days earlier was also a five-set nail-biter, in which Wantagh fought off a valiant comeback attempt by Lynbrook to win 25-20, 25-14, 21-25, 23-25, 25-15.

“We worked so hard together,” senior outside hitter Grace Riddle said. “It means so much.”

Riddle went out on top in her final Wantagh match thanks to some crucial kills in the final set, in which Wantagh averted defeat when trailing 26-25 by taking the final three points. The Lady Warriors had jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the final set, and later led 20-15 before Niagara tallied five straight points to create some tense moments down the stretch.

“It means everything I could have imagined,” Riddle said of the championship celebration, during which players mobbed one another at the net. “We fought hard for each other all season.”

Riddle was named to the All-Tournament team, along with fellow senior Kayla Rende. Senior libero Jill Laino won the Most Valuable Player award.

Wantagh set the stage for its victory in the second set. The Lady Warriors, who narrowly lost the first set 25-23, trailed 16-9 in the second and were staring at a possible 2-0 deficit before rallying to capture 16 of the final 22 points, capped by a Claudia Corbett kill. The comeback was also keyed by big plays from Tori Spencer and Despina Boudouris.

After dropping the third set, 25-20, Wantagh stayed alive with more pressure plays in the fourth. Riddle thwarted a late Niagara comeback attempt with kills on the final two points in a 26-24 win that set up the dramatic fifth set.

Wantagh (18-1) positioned itself for Sunday’s state finals after going 4-2 in pool play last Saturday, including a sweep of Niagara. The Lady Warriors made history the next day, establishing themselves as one of the top teams in Wantagh High’s storied athletic tradition.

“It means a lot to the girls,” O’Shea said. “To be able to push through and win states is indescribable.”