Hauppauge boys fall in state volleyball title match
Hauppauge's Nicholas Crociata (16) and Andrew Tsororos (18) combine to block the spike attempt by Oswego's Jason Caster (11) during the New York State Boys Volleyball Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 at Suffolk Community College. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Andrew Tsororos shared in the teary goodbyes after the Hauppauge boys volleyball team left the court, but the big picture gave him solace.
Rochester Brighton swept Hauppauge (10-7) in three games to capture the state Class B championship yesterday at Suffolk Community College-Brentwood, but just reaching the program's first state final was an accomplishment, he said.
"It was really one of the best experiences of my life," said Tsororos, who had 21 kills and two blocks in the title match. He said he was sad about the way the season ended, "but I'm really proud of everything we've accomplished this year.
"It's history, it speaks for itself. We came out and did what nobody expected us to do and we're really proud of that."
Hauppauge -- which advanced to the final after splitting sets with Brighton (22-4) and Oswego earlier in the day's pool play -- trailed for most of each game in the final match, but never by much, and repeatedly rallied to tie or take a brief lead behind Tsororos, Bryan Seltenreich (38 assists) and Jackson Wahl, who had five kills and three blocks.
Hauppauge's best showing against Brighton came in the second set, a 25-20 loss. The Eagles fought to tie it at 8 and again at 13, and were able to score after long volleys, specifically one kept alive by a Brighton player's incidental header. Brighton took an early 4-3 lead in both the first and third sets, and held on for 25-18 and 25-21 wins, respectively. Ben De La Cruz quashed Hauppauge's comeback attempt in the third game with two straight points to go up 24-20. He was a standout in the first game, also, helping his team extend its 15-14 lead to 21-15.
"They're a good team," said Seltenreich, a senior setter. "Maybe they wanted it more than us, but we fought until the end. It was just a pleasure to be here. We fought all year. We earned it. It was a lot of fun."
Hauppauge coach Chris Varthalamis said his team might have been playing "not to lose as opposed to trying to win," during a late stretch, but added that he couldn't have asked more from his players.
"The school's so proud of them, you saw the fan base," Varthalamis said. "And that's the disappointment you're seeing now. They wanted to do it for them. I'm so proud of them, it's just going to take some healing now."
