Sayville girls volleyball's Trinity Ricevuto, Adria Vargas lead rally in Class A regional final victory
Reese Kelly (21 assists) during Golden Flashes victory in state Class A Southeast Regional final on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Credit: Allyse Pulliam/Allyse Pulliam
Sayville was taken to the brink, but once again managed to extend its special season in the clutch moments, thanks to the team's “all in” mentality.
The Golden Flashes were a set away from defeat, but recovered to defeat Cornwall Central, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 15-13, in a state public school Class A Southeast Regional final on Friday night at Mount St. Mary’s College.
“The motto on the back of our shirts this season is all in and we’ve stuck to that,” senior Makenzie Muscarello said. “We’ve believed in each other, in what we could do and that’s helped us get to this point.”
Trinity Ricevuto had 21 kills and six aces, Adria Vargas had 33 digs and 19 kills, Elena Haakonson had 31 assists, Reese Kelly had 21 assists and Khylee Boesch had three blocks.
After dropping the first set, Sayville (19-0) was able to regroup and shake off its nerves to grab the second set.
“In the first set we were certainly shaking off some jitters,” Muscarello said. “We couldn’t doubt ourselves and when the second set hit, we settled in.”
Sayville went into the fifth set with momentum but found itself trailing 10-5. The Golden Flashes responded with an 8-3 run to tie it at 13. With match point, Vargas spiked a powerful attack that ricocheted off a diving defender to give Sayville the dramatic win.
“We started off the last set slow and trailed, but at that point you could just see a switch flip in the girls,” coach Debra Urso said. “Everyone came together as a unit and they began to play incredibly.”
Sayville advances to the pool play semifinal round, beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls. The final is Sunday.
“This has been something that has been building over the years,” Urso said. “They’ve given their hearts and put hard work into this program.
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.