Alec Helford boosts Massapequa to Nassau 'A' volleyball title
Massapequa celebrates winning the Nassau High School boy's volleyball Class B finals where Massapequa defeated Plainview Old-Bethpage JFK at the Pratt Center in Old Westbury, New York on Nov. 12, 2015. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Massapequa won the first two sets in last night's Nassau Class A volleyball final, but strangely enough, it was the Chiefs who needed a comeback to win the match.
Plainview JFK won the third and fourth sets to level the match, took a five-point lead in the fifth, and had a pair of match points.
Led by the passing of Alec Helford, though, the No. 1 Chiefs fought back and defeated No. 2 Plainview JFK at SUNY-Old Westbury. Helford had 45 assists, John Carroll had 13 kills and Patrick Clyne had 11 kills to lead Massapequa, which won, 25-23, 25-18, 16-25, 20-25, 27-25.
Massapequa won its first county title since 2012, and will play reigning state champion Sachem North at 2 p.m. Saturday at SUNY-Old Westbury for the Long Island championship.
"We were down by so much in the fifth and to come back like we did, it's just insane," Helford said.
Massapequa (18-0) trailed 18-13 in the fifth set, facing a red-hot Plainview JFK team led by Daniel Kim and tournament MVP Brian Maloney. The Chiefs took a 22-21 lead before Plainview JFK won the next three points to set up match point. Massapequa leveled the score at 24-24 before Plainview JFK took a 25-24 lead.
The Chiefs held off the second match point as well, and won the final three points of the match to secure the title.
Clyne said the win was even more special in light of both the team's loss to Plainview JFK in last season's county final and its semifinal loss as the top seed in 2013.
"There was disappointment after the two straight years when we lost," Clyne said. "I knew the feeling as a sophomore and a junior, and I didn't want to go through that as a senior."
Massapequa attacked the middle early, getting a strong performance from Carroll and Matt Fasulo, who had 10 kills.
"I was trying to be the energy on the court as much as I could," Carroll said.
It showed in the early sets before Plainview JFK (16-3) fought back to tie the match, led by Maloney, who was the only returning starter from last season's championship team.
In the fifth, Carroll said Massapequa never got down on itself. "We knew we could do it and we just kept pushing. We've been prepping for this moment all year."
Said Helford: "This is surreal, and doing it in five, doing it in extra points, makes it extra special."
