Franki Kelleher drives Long Beach girls volleyball into state Class AA final
Long Beach players celebrate after defeating West Genesee in the semifinals of the girls volleyball Class AA state championship tournament in Glens Falls, N.Y., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. Credit: /Tim Roske
GLENS FALLS — Whenever Long Beach desperately needed a point, Franki Kelleher became an unstoppable force.
Kelleher had 18 kills as Long Beach defeated West Genesee (Section III), 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 29-27), in the state Class AA semifinals on Saturday morning at Cool Insuring Arena.
“We knew in our hearts that we had this,” Kelleher said. “When we give it our all and support each other, there’s no stopping us.”
Kelleher started the match with a kill for the first point, she had seven kills in the first set and a block. With the opening set tied at 22, the senior outside hitter picked up a kill and two points later got another for the set clincher, both on assists by Hayley Lipinski (29 assists).
Long Beach held a 23-18 lead but made crucial errors late in the second to let West Genesee back into the set.
“We made a few more errors than we normally do,” Kelleher said. “That was the hard part, making up for our mistakes, not letting them feed off of our errors.”
Kelleher went to the bench with Long Beach ahead 24-23 and West Genesee went on to score the next two points. Kelleher came back into the game with the scored tied at 26 and rattled off two big kills to give Long Beach the second set.
“Kelleher is our go-to,” Long Beach coach Kerri Rehnback said. “You don’t draw up plays in volleyball like you do in basketball, but when you’ve got the opportunity to get her the ball, it’s coming her way.”
West Genesee led for much of the third set, holding its largest lead of the match at 14-8. It held a 22-18 lead, before Long Beach scored the next five, with three coming off Franky DeCicco (six kills and three block) kills.
“We’re very confident in each other and know how to play well together,” DeCicco a junior, said. “The good thing about us is we pick each other up. We don’t get mad at each other. We get mad at ourselves and challenge ourselves to be better.”
The final set would also require extra points as each team survived two set points. With Long Beach ahead 28-27, Lipinski sent a shot over the net that West Genesee failed to get over in three touches.
Long Beach (9-10) will face Webster Schroeder (Section V) in the state final at 9 a.m. on Sunday. With coach Rehnback retiring at season’s end, Long Beach has managed to extend the season another day.
“The team said in practice that they wanted to make this last as long as possible, Rehnback said. “We’ve played our best in big moments and they’ve thrived off these kind of environments.”
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.
