Amanda Gannon, Jaclyn Wilton lead Kings Park to fourth straight Class A crown
Kings Park's Amanda Gannon, left, and Kathleen Benson celebrate with teammates after earning a hard-fought point in the Long Island Class A championship against South Side at SUNY Old Westbury on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Credit: James Escher
Although it faced a rare close match on Sunday, which even included an early deficit, Kings Park girls volleyball remained as cool and composed as ever.
Kings Park defeated South Side, 3-2, at SUNY Old Westbury to win a fourth straight Class A Long Island Championship and the team's 67th straight victory over Long Island competition. Amanda Gannon had 19 kills, 24 digs and three blocks, and Jaclyn Wilton added 16 kills, 23 digs and two aces to lead Kings Park (20-0) in its 24-26, 25-14, 25-17, 24-26, 25-16 win.
"Everybody stepped up. We kept our composure in every game," said Kings Park coach Elizabeth Manly, whose team will play in the state tournament in Glens Falls, which begins Saturday.
"It's such a rush of energy," Wilton said. "I'm so proud of all of us."
South Side (15-2) took the first set, marking the first time since Oct. 8 that Kings Park dropped a set and the first time since Oct. 1 that it trailed.
"We're a loose bunch and we carry that over into our play," said Kings Park middle hitter Emily Stephens, who had nine kills, two blocks and four aces.
"Whenever we're in a rut, we try and keep it calm and just be who we are on the court. It usually helps us and translates well into the game."
That certainly showed on Sunday, as Kings Park came storming back to win the second set by 11 and the third by eight.
"We definitely knew we had to pick up the intensity, and pick up the communication," middle hitter Kat Benson said. "Once we did that, we knew we could pull it out."
The Cyclones, however, showed resiliency of their own, coming out strong in the fourth set and holding on to win, 26-24.
Once again, Kings Park responded in dominant fashion, jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the fifth set en route to a nine-point win.
"We're all nuts and loose and it shows on the volleyball court," Gannon said. "We all know we have each other's backs on the court and we're never going to give up."
