Seaford's Danielle McHugh during Seaford verses Wayne during pool play...

Seaford's Danielle McHugh during Seaford verses Wayne during pool play at the Class B girls volleyball championships at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, New York on Nov. 19, 2022 Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — This was just the second Seaford girls volleyball team to make the state championships in program history, but you’d never believe that by how they came out from the start.

     Seaford won its first set, 25-20, over Wayne in the state Class B championships at Cool Insuring Arena Saturday evening. But unfortunately for the Vikings, that would be their only victory as their season ended in pool play.

      “Having only one other team in Seaford history do this, it’s really an accomplishment just to get here,” senior Danielle McHugh said. “We just played our hardest and did what we could.”

    Seaford last made the state championships in 2019. But this year the Vikings recorded their first set victory in the championships.

      “I think it was huge for them to be here but even before they won their first set, they were like ‘We deserve to be here. We belong here,’” coach Marie Savage said. “Instead of being like, ‘Wow, how did we get here?’”

     Seaford, which entered Saturday at 12-5, had a combination of youth and experience in reaching the state championships this fall. The Vikings’ starting lineup consisted of four seniors in Ashley Parson, Natalie Masters, Jamie Young and McHugh along with juniors Sara Lochner and Shannon Boll and sophomore standout Carey-Jean Block.

     “This team is really special,” Block said. “And we have [a lot] of us coming back next year so to be able to spend another year together and to come off being the first team in Seaford history to win a set up here is something really special.”

     Seaford defeated Bayport-Blue Point in five sets to reach the four-team state championships. With the combination of winning that Long Island Class B championship and gaining additional confidence in Glens Falls, the Vikings hope the program will only continue to improve.

“After all the hard work, we knew we could come in here and take sets from teams,” McHugh said. “We knew we were just as good. It was just a matter of how we played.”

“It’s pretty awesome to get here,” Block said. “Even though it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, it’s still awesome to get here.”

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