Hauppauge boys volleyball goes down with smile in state semifinals
Hauppauge's Miguel Heredia (9) the ball during Division II pool play against Jamesville - Dewitt in the boys volleyball state championship tournament on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Credit: Hans Pennink
ALBANY – Hauppauge’s boys volleyball team played the last few sets of its season the same way it played all year. The Eagles played with smiles, laughs and a general sense of joy.
Hauppauge was eliminated in the semifinals of the state boys volleyball championships, losing to Spencerport (Rochester), 19-25, 19-25, and Jamesville-Dewitt (Syracuse), which went on to win the championship, 19-25, 26-24 in Division II pool play Saturday at Albany Capital Center.
“They played every set like it was a fun time,” coach Chris Varthalamis said. “That mindset can catch up to you in a championship setting like this, but it’s what got them here.”
The Eagles played their opponents tight as they did all season, but they just couldn’t finish their comeback attempts as they had done several times throughout the playoffs.
“I said from the start that we’d make it to states,” senior setter Liam Edgeworth said. “It would’ve been better if we won, but the fact that we made it here is a great accomplishment.”
Hauppauge was tied 10-10 in its first set with Spencerport, but a 7-1 Spencerport run proved to be the difference. A 5-1 run that gave Spencerport an 18-14 lead was too much for Hauppauge to overcome in the second set.
Hauppauge was tied 16-16 in a do-or-die third set against Jamesville-Dewitt, but the Eagles once again fell behind and couldn’t catch up. They made sure to end their season with a positive, winning their final set despite already being eliminated.
“They weren’t out there trying to destroy their opponent,” Varthalamis said. “They just loved being on the court and that carried them here.”
Hauppauge’s fun-first attitude was apparent even after its season came to and end, with senior Stephen Feron cracking jokes.
“I don’t have much of a social life. This team was pretty much everything for me,” Feron said. “I guess now I’ve got to be a productive member of society and get a job or something like that.”
Despite coming up short at the state tournament, Hauppauge had a 13-5 season and won its first Long Island title since 2015.
“It’s just a different environment when we’re all together. It’s like a family,” Edgeworth said.
“This whole season was a blast,” senior Aidan Doherty added. “It was all about having fun and that’s what we did.”
