Local Girls Volleyball Team Wins Regional Championship

Julia Mines of Katonah, and Emily Tomlinson and Nicole Papalardo of Bedford play on the Downstate 13U volleyball squad which captured the regional championship for a second year in a row at Saturday's Powerzone Volleyball Facility in Denville, N.J.

The winning team's roster includes players from around the region: Katie Roche (Cortlandt Manor), Ashley Brockhausen (Verplanck), Gillian Steiglitz (Montrose), Kelsea Gillen (Montrose), Emily Barthlemes (Montrose), Lindsay Pelaccio (Verplanck), Nicole Etta (Cold Spring), Stephanie Rizzo (Hawthorne) and Melissa Tringali (Cold Spring).

After a five-month season ranked at No. 2, the Downstate team saved its best for last. The tournament, consisting of the top 15 teams from the tri-state area, saw the Downstate squad come out seeded first after pool play with an 8-0 record. 

After easily defeating Allegro 25-13 and 25-15 in the first round, Downstate had to face a tough CJVA Vipers squad. The Vipers took game one easily 25-14 which served as a wake up call to Downstate. 

Downstate responded by winning game two 25-17 to set up a deciding game to 15. The contest stayed close at 10-8 but then saw Downstate pull away and win 15-10, putting it in the finals against No. 3 Aviator, which had defeated the top-seeded Hurricanes.

Coming out of an emotional win in the semifinals, Downstate came out sluggish and trailed 18-8 in the first game. That's where things turned around. They fought back to tie the score at 24-24 with error free ball and went on to win 26-24. 

Game two was just as exciting with the teams being tied 14 times during the match. At 18-18, Downstate slowly pulled away to win the match and the tournament 25-22.

“Last year, with basically the same team, we had won the regional in the 12U division,” Downstate coach Kurt Pelaccio said.  “Next year we will try for a three-peat with the opportunity to go to nationals.”