Oyster Bay girls volleyball tops Wheatley In Nassau Class B final to win fourth straight county title
Nicole Gatti of Oyster Bay sends the ball over the net during the Nassau Class B girls volleyball final against Wheatley on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024 in East Meadow. Credit: Dawn McCormick
For Nicole Gatti and Oyster Bay, the feeling of winning a county championship never seems to get old.
Gatti had 18 kills to lead No. 1 Oyster Bay to its fourth straight county title, defeating No. 3 Wheatley, 23-25, 25-12, 25-16, 25-20, in the Nassau Class B girls volleyball championship on Wednesday night at East Meadow High School.
“We still maintain the same competitiveness,” Gatti said. “It seems like we’re expected to win at this point, but we’re still eager to get it done.”
Tess Egan had 13 kills and Emma Ansbro and Sophia Pavlovic each had three aces.
Maddy George had 11 kills, Angie Krimitsos had nine and Georgie Almiroudis had five kills and three aces for Wheatley.
Oyster Bay tied the first set at 20-20 after an Egan kill. Wheatley scored the next three, aided by two aces from Almiroudis and took the set on an error.
“We had to get louder and bring up one another,” Egan said. “If we made a mistake, we couldn’t let it get in our heads.”
Oyster Bay took a 7-2 lead in the second set before Wheatley got a kill and ace from George to cut the deficit to 9-7. Oyster Bay closed out the set on a 16-5 run. Gatti, who missed half of the season recovering from a torn ACL, had a kill with set point.
“I started playing halfway through the season and didn’t play at all the eight months prior,” Gatti said. “I tried my hardest to recover for this, to come back this season and be able to play in this game.”
“It’s crazy how good she is coming off that injury,” Egan said. “She’s just as good as she was before.”
Wheatley grabbed a 10-6 lead in the third set after an Almiroudis kill. The Baymen scored seven of the next eight points, getting an ace from Gatti and back-to-back kills from Isabella Rizzuto and Egan.
Wheatley got within one point after a Shruti Singh block, but the Baymen finished the set on a 10-2 run, led by Gatti's four kills.
Oyster Bay went ahead 11-3 after a Gatti kill in the fourth set. Wheatley pulled within 18-16 after a Krimitsos ace. The Baymen scored their final two points on a Sabrina Eisner ace and an Egan kill.
“We all wanted to win this so bad,” Gatti said. “We’ve all talked about it multiple times this season. Throughout the game, we kept reminding ourselves.”
Oyster Bay will face Center Moriches at 7 p.m. on Friday at Wantagh High School in the Long Island Class B championship.
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.