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Overcast Lady Falcons fall short in semis
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Valley Stream South junior Melanie Pavels, right, led the Lady Falcons to a Class B first-round playoff win at Cold Spring Harbor.
Frank Koester/Herald
Two of Nassau’s premier hitters were on display last Friday night when top-seeded West Hempstead and No. 5 Valley Stream South met in a Class B girls’ volleyball semifinal at Herricks. Lady Rams senior Angelina Zaharias and Lady Falcons junior Melanie Pavels were as good as advertised, yet only one would advance to play for a county title.
Thirty-four kills from Zaharias and steady contributions from setter Anjolie Clark, Kaitlyn Gaynor and Katie Lynch propelled West Hempstead to a 15-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-20 victory and a date with No. 3 Floral Park in Thursday’s championship match at C.W. Post at 4:30 p.m.
“I think we were a little nervous at the beginning,” West Hempstead coach Suzanne Kenney said. “We played in the top conference during the season and while I think it helped us prepare for the playoffs, we didn’t have a lot of confidence. Now we do since we’ve won two in a row.”
Zaharias gained steam as the match unfolded. She had a powerful smash to end the second set, accounted for six of the team’s 10 points in the third and picked up seven kills in the fourth. “It seemed like when we settled down and made a good pass, our offense was tough to stop,” Kenney said. “Angelina’s difficult to defend.”
So too is Pavels, who led South with 13 kills. “Melanie’s a dominant player no matter where she is on the court,” Lady Falcons coach Rafaela Nikas said. “We had such a special group of girls this year. The biggest reason for our success was their chemistry. They worked so well together.”
The Lady Falcons, who won the Conference IV title and began the playoffs with an impressive sweep of fourth-seeded Cold Spring Harbor in the first round, broke out of the gate quickly and took control of the opening set when sophomore libero Nicole Dorsey stepped on the court for the first time. Already leading 9-3, Dorsey served up six consecutive points to stretch the lead to 12 and seniors Samantha Howley, Amy Ryan and Julia Poje helped maintain it. West Hempstead would get no closer than eight as South (13-3) won the first set for the eighth time in nine matches.
The serving of Zaharias and freshman Chloe Cohen made the difference for the Lady Rams in a second set that saw them score 15 of the last 20 points to pull even. In set three, Gaynor and Lynch had some key kills and sophomore Christolia Butler made her presence felt at the net as West Hempstead won a seesaw battle.
South couldn’t recapture the momentum. Zaharias set the tone early in the fourth set with three straight kills, and the Lady Rams always kept the Lady Falcons at an arm’s length. The final point came on a serve by Cohen.
“Going into the season I knew we had the experience and talent it takes to go far,” Nikas said. “It was a great year.”
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