Thursday, October 1, 2026
Valley Stream Central’s boys’ volleyball team has surged to one of its best seasons in recent years, sitting at 12-3 and poised for a long-awaited playoff return in Conference 1B.
The Eagles, who hadn’t qualified for the postseason since roughly 2017, have rebuilt themselves into a contender under coach Kevin Mayer, transforming a 3-13 record in 2023 and a 9-8 finish last fall into a potential playoff breakthrough.
“It’s been fantastic,” Mayer said. “It’s been just a rewarding experience. It’s great to see the kids put everything together. A lot of returners from last year that played varsity and then a lot of returners that played JV last year are now making an impact with us. It’s been a great year — a lot of fun.”
The Eagles’ rise has also been powered by chemistry and a selfless mindset.
“I think just everyone on the team being unselfish, working hard together one through 14, not really caring who gets the kill or who gets the set,” Mayer said. “Everyone’s buying into that mentality.”
Central’s three losses have come against two of the stronger programs in Nassau County — twice to undefeated Levittown District and once to Herricks.
Against Levittown on Sept. 11, the Eagles were up two sets to one before falling in five. They also dropped a four-set rematch Oct. 15. Between those two matchups, VSC rattled off seven straight victories — all in straight sets, winning 21 consecutive sets overall.
Following the second Levittown loss, the Eagles bounced back in dominant fashion, sweeping Freeport on senior night to mark their most recent win.
Mayer credits much of the success to a core group of juniors who have taken on leadership roles this season. Setter Keith Gestopa has been the offensive catalyst with 523 assists while collecting 71 digs and 20 serving aces.
“He’s very athletic and he can dish it to anywhere on the court,” Mayer said. “He can kind of really make our offense pretty creative.”
Gestopa has been setting up a trio of juniors in Shawn Shah and Matthew Serrano – whom are both approaching the 200-kill plateau – and newcomer Logan Autar, who recently surpassed 100 on the season. Shah is also among the top three on the team in aces, blocks, and digs.
“He's taking his game to the next level too,” Mayer said of Shah. “Just like Keith, he was with us last year and was a starter and just kind of really just grew into just a phenomenal player.”
All-County junior libero Andre Ocava could be in line for another such honor by digging out exactly 200 balls to go with 51 aces and 38 assists.
Autar is Central’s top blocker with 77 and junior Jayden Coleman and Shah have both cleared 20 in that category. Mayer also lauded the contributions of seniors Waseem Elhoriny and Ian Jagnanan.
The team’s final five matches will all be on the road — or close to it. This Thursday’s match against Westbury, originally scheduled at home, will now be played at Valley Stream North due to a homecoming event.
