2005 All-Long Island Girls Volleyball

BY JOE FERNANDEZ | STAFF WRITER
November 16, 2005
A look at the girls volleyball players who stood out on Long Island high school courts in the fall of 2005.


STEPHANIE BETANCOURT
Baldwin, Hitter, Senior
Coach Janine Heilbronn keeps developing talent at Baldwin, a perennial threat in Nassau Class AA, and Stephanie Betancourt is just another example. Betancourt is a two-time All-Nassau selection and has 178 kills, 162 digs and 57 aces this season. Her 19-kill, seven-ace performance in the Nassau Class AA quarterfinal was eclipsed only by her 20-kill, 14-dig, 6-ace performance in the next round against Long Beach this season.


TARA DelMASTRO
Bellport, Libero, Senior
Kills are fun to watch, but defense saves games. Tara DelMastro, a defensive specialist, finished the year with 401 digs and a 90-serve percentage. The three-year varsity player has notched 938 digs and an .830 dig percentage. "Tara always works to be the best that she is capable of being," Bellport coach Larry Auth said. The senior is currently looking into Franklin Pierce (NH), St. Joseph's (LI) and Adelphi.


CAILA DESROCHES
Glenn, Middle Hitter, Senior
With the departure of Newsday hifive! All-Long Island hitter Harmonie Calinda last season, Glenn, a two-time reigning state champion, needed to replace a 400-plus kill player. The Knights got it. Caila Desroches has 409 kills and 69 blocks, and has a hitting efficiency of .431. In her two-year career at Glenn, she has 642 kills, 115 blocks and a kill efficiency of .382. The powerful hitter is currently looking at Northeastern as a possibility for college.


SAMMY FIGLIOLIA
Wantagh, Outside Hitter, Senior
All-Nassau, All-Long Island and All-State accolades, Nassau Playoff MVP and leading hitter for a Long Island championship team – this all before her senior year. Sammy Figliolia has done it again with a team-leading 266 kills and 285 digs in 2005. She was second on the team with a .260 kill percentage and second with 62 aces. "Sammy is an all-around threat," Wantagh coach Kim Cook said. "When I asked each player on the team to name someone who fires them up, and an almost unanimous answer was Sammy."


BRITTANY FULLER
East Rockaway, Middle Hitter, Senior
Brittany Fuller has been behind the wheel during East Rockaway's drive for five straight Long Island championships. A two-time Newsday Hi-Five All-Long Island selection, she had 316 kills, 96 blocks and 36 aces in her junior year. Talk about closing the deal, Fuller had the game-ending kill as the Rocks won the Class C Long Island championship in 2004, and had the game-ending kill as East Rockaway topped Oyster Bay for the Nassau championship this season. Fuller has 155 kills, 110 blocks, 54 digs and 20 aces this season.


KAELA GLENN
Our Lady of Mercy, Setter, Senior
A four-year starting setter, Glenn averaged 21 assists, 7 aces and 5 kills a match en route to earning CHSAA Player of the Year for 2005. She is a two-time CHSAA All-League player and is currently being pursued to play either libero or setter in college. Glenn was also the starting libero for the Empire State Games Long Island silver-medal team this past summer.


KATE HARRISON
Cold Spring Harbor, Setter/Outside Hitter, Senior
"Coming into the season, we had no setter," CSH coach Christina Kohm said. "So I had a difficult decision to make. Kate is my all-around best hitter and defensive player, but she is also the best setter on the team." One of the most versatile players on the Island, Kate Harrison averaged 13 kills, 9 digs, 6 blocks, 6 aces and 23 assists per match this season. She is a team captain and earned All-County accolades the past two seasons.


AMANDA KOPP
Massapequa, Middle Hitter, Senior
It's quality players like Amanda Kopp that keep Massapequa coach CarolAnn Habeeb gunning for county championships. Massapequa just captured its sixth straight. Because Massapequa has won so many matches in three games, Kopp averages 6 kills per match. But with an .840 hitting efficiency, she makes the most out of her opportunities. The All-Nassau senior also averages 16 digs, 5 aces and 5 blocks per match.


JACKIE MORRISON
Ward Melville, Setter, Senior
When a coach like Charlie Fernandes, who has coached a state championship team and two Long Island championship teams, says: "She is the most complete player I've ever had the pleasure to work with," she must be good. Jackie Morrison, a 6-1 senior setter, amassed a program-record 806 assists this season before the playoffs, and added 74 blocks and 67 kills. The three-year starter has been All-League every year, All-County the past two years, and is currently being recruited by Maryland, among other Division I schools. Her 253 career blocks are also a program record.


HOLLY SAHNER
Half Hollow Hills East, Outside/Middle Hitter, Senior
All-League as a sophomore, All-County as a junior and now Newsday hifive! All-Long Island as a senior, Holly Sahner has grown into a true threat at the net. She has amassed 252 kills, 197 digs, 54 blocks and 33 aces during her senior year. For her career, Sahner has 535 kills, 347 digs, 94 aces and 93 blocks. "My success as a coach is not determined by a record, but by having players like Holly," coach Kristin Broadbent said. "She is why I love to coach." Sahner would like to study physical education in college and eventually become a teacher.


GIANNA TROMBINO
Center Moriches, Setter, Junior
Sure a setter will lead your team in assists, but kills too? For Gianna Trombino, it was a little bit of everything that helped her lead the Red Devils to the Suffolk League VIII title this season. The three-year starter and All-County player led the team in kills, assists and aces with 122, 214 and 56, respectively. As a freshman, she earned Rookie of the Year in League VII, and earned All-Conference honors in her sophomore year. Her 21 assists, 11 aces and 10 kills on Oct. 28 helped Center Moriches earn a win over rival Port Jefferson, and clinched the league title.


JESS STORER
Wantagh, Outside Hitter, Senior
Jess Storer is another reason why Wantagh did not drop a game in Nassau conference play this season. She led the team with 75 aces and a .310 kill percentage, and was second on the team with 218 kills and 264 digs. Storer was an All-State second team hitter in her junior year and a two-time All-County player. "With a tough top-spin serve, she put our team at a great advantage since many balls are sent back to us on the first pass," Wantagh coach Kim Cook said. "She is a true role model for our younger athletes."


COACHES OF THE YEAR
CAROLANN HABEEB-KIEL
Massapequa
With an overall record of 187-96, it is no surprise that Massapequa's CarolAnn Habeeb has earned the Nassau Coaches Association Coach of The Year award for 1992, 94, 99 and 2000-2004. She has led her Chiefs to a county championship over each of the past six seasons. She won this season despite losing four-year starter and Newsday hifive! All-Long Island outside hitter Danielle Furka to graduation. Habeeb also has won the conference championship in 1994, 2000-2005 and was selected as Nassau Sports Commission 2004 Female Coach of the Year.


KEVIN HARRINGTON
Glenn
You lose arguably the greatest player Long Island girls volleyball has ever seen in Harmonie Calinda, four All-State players, three to graduation, and your All-State setter Emily Feldman to a season-ending knee injury in mid-September, so how do you still return to the Long Island championship match? The answer to that question is Kevin Harrington. He consistently develops some of the Island's best talent. In 15 seasons at Glenn, Harrington has collected 13 consecutive league titles, six consecutive county titles (eight overall), four Long Island championships and two state titles. As of press time, Glenn was pursuing its fifth straight LI title and third straight state championship. "They interviewed Tom Brady on '60 Minutes' a couple of weeks ago," Harrington said. "They asked him which [Super Bowl] ring is his favorite, and he said 'the next one.'"

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

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