Jimmy Connelly leads Hauppauge to LI Class B title
Hauppauge's Andrew Tsororos, left, Jimmy Connelly, center, and Jackson Wahl celebrate after their team defeats Bellmore JFK for the Class B Long Island boys volleyball championship final on Saturday, November 14, 2015. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
A year ago, it would have been impossible to see Jimmy Connelly lead Hauppauge to a Long Island volleyball title . . . mostly because Connelly did not start playing the sport until this fall.
Connelly had 19 digs and Andrew Tsororos had 24 kills to lead Hauppauge past Bellmore JFK in straight sets in the Class B championship yesterday at SUNY Old Westbury. Bryan Seltenreich added 59 assists for the Eagles, who won, 30-28, 25-22, 25-22, to claim their first Long Island title.
Hauppauge advances to the state tournament, which will begin Saturday at Suffolk CC-Brentwood.
"This is my first year playing volleyball," Connelly said. "I'd never played in my life. I've played lacrosse my whole life. This is the greatest feeling I've ever felt."
"Jimmy's always behind the scenes, he's never looking for accolades. He played with heart, and he made unbelievable dig after unbelievable dig," coach Chris Varthalamis said.
Connelly played an integral role in containing a strong Bellmore JFK offense, as he clogged the space behind the Hauppauge frontline.
With Connelly leading the defense, Seltenreich again was the playmaker, and this, in turn, set the stage for Tsororos, one of the leading scorers in school history.
"You get the ball to Andrew, and he's going to have them second guessing," Varthalamis said. "Every time he's in the front row, they have to watch where he is. He opens things up for the other guys, so Jackson Wahl, so Frank Cioffi can put down a ball from the right side."
The Hauppauge attack also got a boost from Adam Gorgone (eight kills), Nick Crociata (eight kills), and Wahl (seven kills).
"This is surreal, it's awesome," Tsororos said, and Connelly agreed.
"I thought I was going to get cut from the team," Connelly said, "and I here I am starting in the Long Island championship, and we're going to states."
