Massapequa falls short in girls volleyball state final
Megan Kirtyan and Emma Reilly of Massapequa set up a block against Alex McKenzie of Victor during the New York State Class AA volleyball final at Cool Insuring Aren in Glens Falls, N.Y., on Sunday. Credit: Errol Anderson
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — Section V’s Victor did something that only one other opponent could against the Massapequa girls volleyball team this season.
Win a set.
Victor won three of them in its 25-23, 25-14, 15-25, 25-15 victory over Massapequa in the state Class AA final at Cool Insuring Arena.
Seaford was the other team to do so back on Oct. 6, winning the third set, 27-25, in a 3-1 defeat.
"I couldn’t be prouder of the girls. They played their hearts out today," Massapequa coach Amanda Del Giacco said. "When you go to the state tournament, you know you’re going to play the best teams and Victor was the best team. We had a phenomenal season and there is nothing to hang our heads about."
Emma Werkmeister, Victor’s outside hitter and UConn commit, gave Massapequa trouble all match long. She finished with 31 kills, seven digs and six aces, and had a .587 hitting percentage. Werkmeister was named the Class AA tournament MVP.
"We were serving them tough to try and get them out of their system," Del Giacco said. "We tried to slow her (Werkmeister) down, but she’s very good. Kudos to her."
Massapequa was dealt its first loss and finished with a 20-1 record.
"A lot of us have been playing together since we were little, and we just wanted to make this year something special," said senior Emily Keaveney. "This season had a great impact on all of us and it’s definitely one of the highest points in my career."
Massapequa trailed 20-18 in the first set, but Del Giacco called a timeout to talk things over. Her team earned three consecutive points following the timeout to take a 21-20 lead, but Victor answered the run with three points of its own and went on to win the opening set.
Victor (20-1) carried the momentum over to the second set and came away with a decisive 11-point victory.
Despite trailing 2-0, Massapequa did not go down quietly. They jumped out to a 16-11 advantage in the third set and caused Victor to call its first timeout of the match. Massapequa continued to apply pressure and went ahead 20-12, forcing Victor to take another timeout. The team cruised to a 10-point third-set win.
"We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s five sets for a reason," Del Giacco said. "We tried to just focus on one point at a time and the girls left everything they had on the court."
Massapequa featured six seniors in its rotation, plus its libero Kylie Squires. Alessandra Heimbauer has been on the team since eighth grade and was emotional when speaking about her final match with the program.
"This is my fifth year on varsity. We became so close throughout the season and are even closer now," she said. "Our goal since the beginning of the season was to make it to states and we were able to do just that. We had every right to be here."
