Driscoll, Fitzgerald excel, but Sachem North falls in state volleyball final
ALBANY — Sachem North was unable to cap off their stellar season with a state title, but 2018 was still certainly quite memorable for the Flaming Arrows.
Jack Driscoll had 15 kills, 14 digs and four aces, and A.J. Fitzgerald added 20 kills and seven digs as the Sachem North boys volleyball team fell in the Division I state final to Fairport, 20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 20-25, on Saturday at the Albany Capital Center.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” said Sachem North coach Matt Rivera, whose team entered the day undefeated through 18 matches. “We had a great run and competed the whole way until the very end. At the end of the day when you can compete for a state championship and you give yourself that opportunity as a team, you’re really proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish.”
“Obviously they’re a talented group of guys, but this group always found a way to win,” Rivera said. “This group stuck together and found a way. That’s why they had the success they did. When guys were down they came together.”
An inspired performance in the third set cut the Sachem North deficit to 2-1 before tying the score at 19 in the fourth. But the Red Raiders responded with strong net play to pick up six of the final seven points and ultimately earn the title.
“Their hitters were just really good,” Rivera said. “It was a big challenge for us with their size and terrific blockers. And we just couldn’t find ways to get enough stops.”
The Flaming Arrows took the opening match of pool play against Cicero-North Syracuse, 25-16, 25-17, and followed up with a win in the second of two sets against Fairport, 25-22, to advance to the final.
“We had a great season and a lot of success,” said Driscoll. “We didn’t come out on top today but I couldn’t be more proud of how we played together as a team. Throughout the whole season we worked on staying together as a team no matter the ups and downs and momentum swings.”
“I’m just happy that we had the success that we had,” added Driscoll, who is committed to play at Penn State next year. “It was a great way to finish my career here at Sachem North and I’m looking forward to the future.”
“We had a great season and unfortunately we couldn’t pull it out in the end,” said Fitzgerald. “But we worked so hard all season and it definitely showed.”
Fitzgerald spoke about his greatest takeaway from the season.
“Never give up,” Fitzgerald said. “Just like in our last game. They took the first two sets and we didn’t give up. We got them in the third set.”
With the majority of the team expected to return in 2019, Rivera believes this experience will help ignite the Flaming Arrows next season.
“With only three seniors on this team we’re bringing a lot of guys back next year. We hope they got a taste of what it’s like and what it takes to get to a state championship and hopefully next year they give themselves a chance to get back to this match.”
