Kellenberg girls volleyball completes perfect season by winning state CHSAA championship
Kellenberg reacts after winning the state CHSAA volleyball championship on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. Credit: Dawn McCormick
If you asked Kellenberg girls' volleyball, the team would tell you perfection is difficult to achieve. But they sure did make it look easy.
The Firebirds completed their perfect season with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-11, victory over St. Mary’s (Lancaster), in the state CHSAA championship on Saturday afternoon at St. Anthony’s.
With the score tied at 20 in the first set, Kellenberg scored five of the next six points. Kelly Miller and Julianna Lucie had back-to-back kills before Josephine Speciale’s kill came at set point.
“This is something we’ve prepared for, we don’t just try to amp it up once playoff season starts,” Speciale said. “We come in knowing we’re prepared and let the rest take care of itself.”
Kellenberg’s defense was impactful from the opening serve, led by Lucie, who recorded 20 digs in the match.
The Firebirds trailed 20-19 in the second set and used a Lancers error and an ace by Amelia Felice to take the lead. Stella Becker tallied the final kill of the set. Becker finished with 14 kills.
“Our ability to finish has been the biggest thing for us,” Bianca Sapano said. “It was tight in those first two sets, but our ability to keep our composure and finish out sets helped us.”
The Lancers (20-2) held an early 5-2 lead, but the Firebirds responded with a 13-2 run to seize control. Speciale had kills for five straight Firebird points during the set and Sapano finished the match with a kill. Speciale finished with 12 kills and Sapano had 16 assists and 14 digs.
“I’m not one to get emotional, but during the last point I couldn’t help but cry,” Becker said. “This is what I’ve been working for, it’s what we wanted to achieve.”
Kellenberg cruised through its semifinal match earlier in the day, defeating Maria Regina, 25-14, 25-13, 25-11. The Firebirds led by at least 14 points in each set.
Amelia Felice finished with 20 assists, Becker had 16 kills, Lucie had 13 digs and Sapano had 14 kills, 12 assists and three aces.
Becker slammed home a kill to put Kellenberg ahead 21-12 in the first set. The Firebirds called timeout and the team joined her on court to celebrate her 1,000th kill.
“I’ve been waiting for that moment and obviously couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Becker said. “It felt amazing to finally get it done, but it was only achievable because of the team.”
Kellenberg (15-0) has lost just one game in the last two seasons, coming in the state semifinal a season ago.
“We were very confident going into today,” Sapano said. “We knew the competition would be tough, but we were so hungry after losing last year. We knew we could do it and everyone believed in us.”
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.
