Thursday, October 1, 2026
It was a banner season for many high school sports teams within the Herald’s coverage area. Here are the Herald’s picks for the Top 10 team accomplishments, in chronological order.
1. South Side girls volleyball
After pushing Wantagh to the limit in the 2011 Nassau Class A girls’ volleyball final before falling in five sets, South Side defied tremendous odds to dethrone the three-time defending county champions in the Nov. 11 title rematch. The second-seeded Lady Cyclones, coached by Cheryl Scalice, who lost both regular-season meetings to the top-ranked Lady Warriors, overcame an eight-point deficit to win a pivotal third set on the way to a 17-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-14 victory at Adelphi. Seniors Deanna Mostowfi (23), Allison Glass (19) and Allison Leonard (17), and sophomore Jackie Arcoleo (15) combined for 74 digs for South Side, which played stellar defense in capturing its first county crown since 2003.
2. Kennedy boys volleyball
Top-ranked and undefeated Bellmore-JFK powered its way to a fourth Nassau Class B boys’ volleyball title in five years on Nov. 12, edging West Hempstead, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, behind the hitting of tournament MVP Gary Anderson and Matt Murphy. The Cougars went on to make history, becoming the first program in school history to capture a state championship. They avenged a loss in 2011 to Eastport-South Manor to win the Long Island title in five thrilling sets, and capped a perfect 23-0 campaign with a sweep of Lake Shore in the state final on Nov. 18. Anderson, Murphy, Steven Gassert, Jake Sherman, Ron Gutman, Matt Migdal, Justin Fiegeles and Adam Lowell led the way for coach Dennis Ringel.
