Berna, Gubista lead Massapequa to 11th title in row
Massapequa High School junior / middle hitter #15 Joanne Josephson defends against a spike attempt in the first set. (Nov. 10, 2010) Credit: James Escher
Dominance often is a fleeting trait, even for the best of teams.
Massapequa's girls volleyball team is the rare exception. Like a well-run factory, the program churns out a quality product year after year, with the result a long string of championships.
The top-seeded Chiefs overcame No. 3 Long Beach Wednesday at C.W. Post, 25-12, 25-18, 25-14, to win the Nassau Class AA title, their 11th county championship in a row. Samantha Berna had nine digs, eight kills and three blocks, and Ashley Gubista added 12 digs and three aces for Massapequa.
"It never really gets old," Gubista said. "Every single year is a new team, and we always work hard. We can't take anything for granted."
After dominating the first set, Massapequa (17-0) fell into an early rut in the second, falling behind 13-9. Then it reeled off five straight service points to take the lead. After a successful return by Long Beach (11-6) tied it at 14, the Chiefs won 11 of the final 15 points for a 2-0 edge.
In the third set, they built a 12-4 lead before surrendering seven consecutive points to cut the lead to one. Regaining serve at 13-11, Kristen Marchisotto scored five consecutive service points to give the Chiefs a seven-point advantage.
"We knew from the start that we were playing a team that plays good volleyball," Berna said. "Every single game starts at 0-0, and at any time, they can come back."
Massapequa almost learned that lesson the hard way in last year's final, when it built a 2-0 lead against Long Beach before dropping the third and fourth sets. Massapequa won the fifth set to extend its title run to 10.
"Last year, we almost let it slip away," Gubista said. "We're the type of team that needs to work for every single point. We just had to keep working."
From Long Beach's perspective, it just played an imperfect game at an inopportune time. "We made way too many mistakes, both mental and physical," coach Kerri Rehnback said. "We did not pass well and couldn't use any of our weapons."
Massapequa will play the winner of tonight's Ward Melville/Lindenhurst Class AA Suffolk championship in the regional final Saturday. The winner will go to the state tournament in Glens Falls.
Wantagh repeats. Top-seeded Wantagh (14-0) defeated No. 2 Bellmore JFK, 26-24, 25-17, 25-20, for its second consecutive Nassau Class A title. The Warriors' Jenny Ilibassi had 10 kills, and Nicole Kelly had 10 assists.
JFK (12-3) let a 24-21 lead slip away in the first set. "It's almost like they needed that extra kick and drive," Wantagh coach Katie McKeefrey said.
