Wantagh doesn't let up, tops South Side in straight sets for Nassau Class A volleyball crown
Wantagh celebrates during the Nassau Class A girls volleyball final on Wednesday, April 28 2021, in Wantagh. Credit: Dawn McCormick
After the second set of Wednesday’s Nassau Class A girls volleyball final, Wantagh found itsel facing two opponents. It had done pretty well with the first one – South Side. But now, human nature had entered the gym and a new set of obstacles appeared.
Wantagh (12-1) had won the first two sets in convincing fashion and had to win only one of the next three to take home the title. Letting up would have been easy. Instead, they refused to do so.
"For us, it’s not very hard," Emily Van O’Linda said. "We know how South Side is. We know that they’re capable of coming back after two [sets]. We beat them in five during the season, we know that they’re not going to give up against us. That pushed us more. It was like ‘hey, play like it’s the first set, we’re not done yet.’"
But they were done soon – which was good news for host Wantagh. Despite falling behind early in the third set for the first and only time of the match, Wantagh was able to reassert itself as the dominant force in the room and come away wih a straight sets victory over South Side, 25-18, 25-9, 25-16 to capture the crown.
It was its first county title since 2018, when it also won the state championship, according to coach Daniel O’Shea.
"I really wish we could go further this year, because I really do believe we would have won states," said Julia Coppola, lamenting that the season ends at the county level because of COVID-19 concerns.
Shannon Sullivan led Wantagh with nine kills. Sadie Reich had eight and Olivia Pugliese had six. Sarah Rende had 25 assists and Nicolette Piscopo has 12 digs. Van O’Linda had nine digs and Coppola had seven.
"Today we played some of the best games that we’ve ever played," Reich said. "…We needed to come out in all three sets strong. In the second set, we kept telling each other ‘play like it’s the first set. Play like we didn’t win anything yet.’"
Wantagh was most dominant in the second set, opening up a 5-0 lead and never looking back. In the third set, it trailed 3-2, held tight with 8-7 and 13-10 leads before ballooning it to 20-13.
"We got a kill and we came together and said ‘this is where we push,’ '' Coppola said.
