By John C. O'Connell
Valley Stream's Side Out Valley won the Vitra Jones Beach Volleyball Tournament July 28th after a series of quarter-final and semi-final wins to take the championship. Fifty teams from New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey vied for the Jones Beach championship.
"It feels fantastic," said Charles Felloni, Sr., who founded and manages the team with his son, Charles Jr.
"You have to realize the effort that goes into something like this," Charles Sr. said. "The key to our success is having fun and playing together."
The playoffs for the Jones Beach tournament began Saturday, July 27, when Side Out Valley faced three tough teams and beat them all, advancing to the semis on Sunday. In the best two out of three games, Valley Stream's team beat George's Players two straight, moving into the finals played later that day.
Still playing the best two of three, Side Out Valley won the first game against Suffolk's Set This Up 15 to 8.
The second game wasn't simple. Each team traded points, one for them, one for Side Out Valley, until the score was 8 to 6, then Set This Up was leading 14-12.
"Sophia [Papathanasin] saved the game for us with a great defensive play and Craig [Perori] had a great offensive play hit right down the line; a 'kill' they call it," Felloni said.
With that, Sophia got the serve and the team made two back-to-back scores to win the championship 16-14.
Steve DeLucie played outstanding defense as well, Felloni said. In such a win, everyone played his and her winning part.
Side Out Valley's been playing since 1988, when the team started as an adult recreation program at Central High School. The team built up its talent and its skills and moved higher and higher in volleyball divisions over the years.
Now, Felloni said, Side Out Valley plays a pretty advanced game, running plays and using strategies. "We play outstanding defense," said Felloni, a man who's been playing volleyball since the early '60s.
In addition to the Jones Beach tourney, Side Out Valley plays in a Long Beach league as well. The team's in second place now, with playoffs scheduled at the west end of Long Beach, one block east of New York Avenue, between New York Avenue and Grand Boulevard, at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 22. They'd love to see a cheering section.
