South goes down fighting

Standout Melanie Pavels did everything she could to prolong Valley Stream South’s girls’ volleyball season as well as her outstanding high school career, but Lynbrook outlasted the Lady Falcons in five sets in a Nassau Class A first-round playoff match on Nov. 2.

Kasey Keller had 13 kills, Taylor Garrett had 10 digs and 15 assists, and Nicole Millilo added 25 digs to lead sixth-seeded Lynbrook to a 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21 win. Pavels, a five-year varsity player who earned All-State honors in 2009 and was a member of South’s county championship team in ’06, finished with 33 kills.

“Our girls really battled and went down fighting,” VSS coach Rafaela Nikas said. “They thought they were going to win right up until the final point. They made me so proud.”

Pavels, who moved to middle hitter this season after doing most of her damage in the past from the outside, picked up another All-County accolade this fall and led the Lady Falcons (7-5 in Conference A-II) in kills, digs, blocks and service aces.

“Melanie lit up the place,” Nikas said of Lynbrook’s gym, the site of the playoff match. “She really went out with a bang. I don’t know how her back isn’t broken, considering how much she carried us. She was a great player and kid to coach. She plays with fire and without an ego.”

Pavels, a member of Long Island’s scholastic Empire State Games team this past summer and a USA Dig The Beach Juniors champion, is in the process of deciding where to play and study at the college level. “She’s undecided and waiting to see what packages are presented to her,” Nikas said. “She still has a little time to figure it out.”

In addition to Pavels, South loses a handful of other key contributors to this year’s playoff run.

Senior off-setter Nicole Dorsey, who switched from libero, was a strong communicator with good passing skills. The primary setter, senior Nicole DePace, made her first year on varsity a memorable one. She was a consistent passer who kept everyone loose on the court, Nikas said. Senior middle Christine Profeta’s work in the back row and on serves were big pluses, and senior Carina Rostant also had a solid season in the middle.

Junior Colleen Poje is the top candidate to take over the full-time setter role next year, while junior outside hitter Jen DeCastro will be counted on to continue being a strong serve-receiver and reliable hitter.

South outlasted Mepham in five sets in a wild conference finale on Oct. 29. Pavels had 28 kills, 16 digs and five assists, Poje had 18 assists and Angela Celentano added nine kills, five blocks and four aces in the 28-26, 22-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-9 win. It was the fifth conference match that went the distance.

“The conference was very competitive from top to bottom,” Nikas said.