Long Beach gives mighty Massapequa a tussle before losing

Massapequa had been perfect this season. Playing, and winning, the minimum 18 games in its first six matches served to reinforce the perpetual aura of invincibility that surrounds the 10-time defending Nassau Class AA champs.

Long Beach chipped away at that aura on Friday, although Massapequa prevailed, 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, in Conference AA-I.

Those razor-close second and third games served as a needed reality check from the wave of domination Massapequa (7-0) had been riding.

"We needed to lose," senior outside hitter Samantha Berna said. "We needed to realize that we have to work hard for this and that nothing will come easy to us."

After the first game, there seemed to be little to indicate that Long Beach (5-2) could hang with the county's top team. Then, the second game saw the Chiefs slow down their customary up-tempo offense and let Long Beach into the match.

In the third, Long Beach charged out to a 13-7 lead, forcing Chiefs coach Carol Ann Habeeb to call timeout. A Chiefs rally deflated that cushion and took the score to 20-18. Marines standout outside hitter Chelsea Braga responded with a kill that shifted the momentum back to Long Beach's favor.

Braga, who finished with 10 kills and 19 digs, liked what she saw during the matches' final three games.

"I think we showed everybody that we can play," Braga said. "The scores show that."

The scores indicated that the gap between Massapequa and the rest of the field might have narrowed just a bit. And at this juncture of a season, a team can build on moral victories.

"I was very pleased with the result, although a win would have been nice," Marines coach Kerri Rehnback said.

After losing the third game, Massapequa built leads of 9-3 and 17-6 in the fourth. Despite a late-game rally from Long Beach, the Chiefs escaped without the peril of a deciding fifth game.

"We pulled away in the fourth because we were playing our game," Habeeb said. "Earlier in the match, we were playing a quicker offense and connecting. Then, all of a sudden, we started tipping too much and playing a slower game."

More than anything, the Chiefs realized that title number 11 won't come without hiccups.

"Playing good volleyball like we did today, between these two teams, really gave us an eye-opener of how much more we need to work," Habeeb said.