Wheatley sweeps Carle Place in girls volleyball to win Nassau Class C girls championship
Wheatley celebrates its win in the Nassau Class C girls volleyball final at SUNY-Old Westbury on Nov. 10, 2015. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Wheatley finally has its banner. In early September, during a bit of a lackadaisical practice, coach Tom Greeley sat his team down and told them to look up at the championship banners.
None of them read girls volleyball. Despite winning only two matches last season, Greeley told his team that a championship was possible.
And now, it's a reality.
Second-ranked Wheatley swept No. 4 Carle Place in the Nassau Class C finals, 25-16, 25-13, 28-26, on Tuesday at SUNY-Old Westbury.
Wheatley (15-3) will face Mattituck (10-2) in the Long Island Class C championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, with a trip to the state Final Four in Glens Falls on the line.
"Our goal was to get here," Jessica Hastings said. " . . . When I was eight, I started playing volleyball and I could not have imagined being here. This feels amazing."
It looked as if Wheatley would wrap up its title in rather anticlimactic fashion. After Carle Place tied the third game at 17, Wheatley ran off seven consecutive points. Hastings, who appeared to be everywhere on the court at the most opportune of moments, served the final six points of the rally to bring up match point.
"I wasn't serving my hardest because I just wanted to get it over the net," Hastings said. "Consistency is key in those kind of situations."
But Carle Place wasn't finished yet. The Frogs scored seven straight points to tie it at 24. After an exchange of points, Wheatley took a 26-25 lead. Then, a faulty serve tied the game up again. Suddenly, a match that had been relatively one-sided was turning into a game that would be won on the slimmest of margins.
"I don't think there was ever any worry," Hastings said. "Because, we did have two games left, but we just wanted to end it right there. We knew we could."
Finally, with Jaime Ryan serving, Wheatley scored that final, elusive point and mobbed the court, knowing that a new banner was on its way to their gym.
"I just wanted to get the ball over," Ryan said. "I wasn't expecting to get the last point. When we got it, the sense of relief in having a banner was really exciting."
