Wantagh nets county championship

For the first time since capturing three consecutive Nassau Class A girls’ volleyball championships from 2009 to 2011, Wantagh is back on top.

The top-seeded Lady Warriors, a year after coming up short against South Side in the county finals, with a relentless attack directed by senior setter Katie Hagan, swept No. 3 Long Beach for the title before a boisterous crowd on Nov. 11 at SUNY Old Westbury.

Hagan handed out 28 assists, senior Haley Labo and junior Jillian Graham had 12 kills apiece, and senior Nicole Hilton added 10 kills in Wantagh’s 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 victory. Junior Gabby Ayzenberg’s 15 kills led the way for Long Beach, which led 12-11 in the second and third sets but couldn’t match the Lady Warriors’ firepower and consistency.

“After the way last season ended, our mindset was to win the county championship,” Hagan said. “We’ve worked really hard and have great chemistry. We have a lot of weapons, and everyone was on tonight. It feels amazing.”

Wantagh (21-1), which swept Calhoun, Manhasset and Mac-Arthur en route to the finals, overcame subpar serving to win the opening set behind Labo’s eight kills. After an Ayzenberg service ace cut the margin to 21-20, the Lady Warriors scored four straight points to close it out. “I think we had an early case of the jitters,” coach Katie McKeefrey said. “It took us a little while to settle in, but the girls played a great match. I thought we did as good a job as we could defending Gabby [Ayzenberg]. She’s a powerful hitter.”

Hilton and junior Abagail Cullen combined for 32 blocks in the front row, while in the back juniors Olivia D’Antonio and Christina Weir totaled 30 digs, many of which came on Ayzenberg’s cross-court smashes. “I thought we played a solid match and have a bright future,” Long Beach coach Kerri Rehnback said. “We had momentum in the second and third sets, but we just couldn’t sustain it. Wantagh can beat you a lot of different ways.”

With contributions from senior Emma Colletti, junior Tara Steiner and freshmen Kathleen Verastegui and Grace Rosenberg, the Lady Marines (15-5) raced to a 12-6 advantage in the second set. After regaining serve, McKeefrey brought senior Nicolette Laino off the bench, and the move changed the momentum. Reich had two aces as part of an eight-point swing that vaulted Wantagh into the lead. Long Beach got back within 16-15, but the Lady Warriors took nine of the next 11 points, including four kills by Graham, to set the tone for the sweep.

“Nicolette is a great server,” McKeefrey said. “She’s very calm and went in and made a big difference.”

Long Beach led the third set 12-8 when McKeefrey called timeout. “We didn’t want to let them back in the match,” Hagan said. “Coach said, ‘Let’s finish it.’”

Wantagh scored seven straight points after the timeout, and seven of the last nine after the Lady Marines got within 18-16.