Braga's impact on Long Beach immeasurable
Chelsea Braga holds most of the Long Beach girls volleyball records. Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas
Long Beach senior Chelsea Braga spent six years with the girls volleyball program, five on varsity, and the past four as the Marines' top player.
"It has been five years, and I never thought that it would end," Braga said.
To quantify Braga's impact on Long Beach volleyball, one most go beyond her school-record 1,709 kills, which shattered the previous mark by 981. Or her record 1,280 digs, which supplanted the previous record by 680. Not to mention those 323 aces, also tops on the Long Beach leader board.
"In the past six years that she has been a part of Long Beach volleyball, she has transformed the program for us," Marines coach Kerri Rehnback said of Braga - Newsday's Player of the Year.
According to Rehnback, when Braga made the varsity as an eighth-grader, only two or three girls played club volleyball during the offseason. Now, all but two or three Marines players participate in some sort of offseason club program. Rehnback credits Braga's dedication to the sport in encouraging many teammates to make volleyball a year-round pursuit.
The result: three consecutive berths in the Nassau Class AA championship game.
On the court this season, Braga, a natural outside hitter, volunteered to move to middle blocker. Spending most of her time in the middle, Braga improved her defense, becoming an even greater two-way force.
"She is a kid who can play anywhere," Rehnback said. "This year, her defense stepped up a notch. When she was in the back row, she took control back there and was in every single serve-receive."
That is the type of production that cannot be replicated.
"She is not replaceable," Rehnback said.
"With that being said, she also left an impression on the girls. Next year, without her, the girls will fight to be the best person on the court. That is the impression she leaves on Long Beach volleyball."
