Seaford girls win Nassau B volleyball title

One big block made all the difference for Sophie Dandola and Ashley Soliwoda.

The pair timed their jumps together and sent a ball back across the net for a kill and a 25-24 lead in the second set of the Nassau Class B girls volleyball championship, swinging momentum back to No. 2 Seaford.

Seaford (13-3) went on to defeat No. 1 Lynbrook (14-2) in straight sets 25-18, 26-24, 25-20 to win the title at SUNY Old Westbury.

"Once that started, that just pumped us up even more," Sophie Dandola said of the block. "We always say 1, 2, 3 before we go up and today was just on."

The ending of the second set was close, but Seaford had set itself apart earlier by going on a 5-1 run to take a 18-14 lead. Then Lynbrook came back from a 22-18 deficit by scoring six of the next eight points. That set up the 24-24 showdown. After Dandola and Soliwoda's combined block, a Seaford serve couldn't be returned by Lynbrook to seal the second set.

"Once we start getting points, we start playing a lot better because our confidence is up," senior setter Erin Russell said. "Our hitters start swinging way more."

Russell had 20 assists, five kills and 11 digs. Dandola had 11 kills, two blocks and two aces. Soliwoda and Sophia Kaufman each had four blocks and four kills.

SEE PHOTOSNassau Class B girls volleyball finals: Lynbrook vs. Seaford

Seaford, which faces the winner of Glenn/Bayport Blue-Point in the Long Island Championship 1 p.m. Saturday at Suffolk County Community College, had been the only team to defeat Lynbrook this season, and while the Vikings didn't expect to win in three sets, their previous encounter gave them a confidence boost.

"That's what we said before we played Mineola in the semifinals," Russell said. "We can't let them be the team that has to play Lynbrook because we're the only team that has beaten Lynbrook and we know we can do it."