Kings Park girls volleyball on a roll
From a 5-12 in 2001-2011 to an 18-2 a year later, 2011 has been a true storybook season for Kings Park girls volleyball team. The Lady Kingsmen took another step toward its goal of advancing to the NYSPHSAA championship after knocking off League-VI power Sayville, 23-25, 25-16, 26-24, 18-25, 25-21, in the Suffolk Class A Final on Wednesday night.
Kings Park will play Nassau winner Wantagh in the Long Island Class A on Saturday at 5 pm. at St. Joseph's College.
Coming off a rebuilding year in 2010 where the Lady Kingsmen
were 5-12, they were out to prove that they could
compete with the best in Suffolk county.
Kings Park started the season 9-0 and earned a No.6 ranking in the Newsday girls volleyball top 10 poll. Among those nine victories were triumphs over League-V rivals Eastport-South Manor, Bellport and Islip.
The Lady Kingsmen were led by amazing individual efforts from sophomore outside hitter Joelle Goldstein with 30 kills vs bellport, senior middle Jessica Levonick and sophomore setter Kendall Corcoran, who tied the school record with 64 assists twice.
Kings Park suffered a minor setback with consecutive losses on October 7 and 10 to Sayville and Eastport-South Manor. But the Lady Kingsmen came back to win 10 straight. Two freshmen, outside hitter Amanda Gannon and middle hitter Emily Stephens, have started every game and have been key contributors.
Defensive specialists Sarah Frisina and Kaitlyn Krietzman, both seniors, and junior Tara Trapani have formed one of the most formidable defenses in Suffolk County.
After knocking off seventh-seeded Deer Park and No.3 West Hampton Beach, the Lady Kingsmen avenged its regular-season loss to Sayville in the county championship game, to win its first title since 1996.
Yankees pushed to brink, game 3 wrap ... Queens County Farm ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Yankees pushed to brink, game 3 wrap ... Queens County Farm ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV