Masspequa Boys Volleyball Defeats Port Washington

While things initially looked grim for the Massapequa Chiefs boys volleyball team in their Nassau Class AA semifinal against the Port Washington Vikings, the Chiefs dug deep and summoned the will to win, taking the match in straight sets, 28-26, 25-21, 25-21.

The win avenged the top ranked Chiefs' only loss of the season and secured a place in the final Thursday against Plainview.

In the first game, Massapequa took a pounding at from the Vikings, and fell behind on the scoreboard. But they came roaring back, propelled by several powerful kill shots by Christopher Husmann, Massapequa narrowly took the set 28-26.

By the second game, Massapequa seemed to have finally warmed up, but Port Washington still gave them all they could handle. The two teams played at a breakneck pace, with the Chiefs' offence and the Vikings' defense virtually cancelling each other out at every turn.

Massapequa found themselves down several points multiple times throughout the match, but despite the skill of their opponents, they managed to capture the next two games, 25-21, 25-21.

Chiefs' head coach Steve Mariano felt his team's tenacity allowed them to claim victory.

"Defensively, we missed our responsibilities a lot today," he said. "But what I'm most proud of is that we played from the line all three games, and we had to fight back in all three of them, which is something we weren't able to do the first time we played Port."

Mariano was impressed by the fierce competition that the Vikings gave his team.

"Port Washington played a phenomenal game," he said. "Defensively, they were awesome, and they blocked really well...they fought right to the end."

WIth the tough match behind him, Christopher Husmann could joke about how it went.

"We played a good game," he said. "We've just got to keep our serves in...when we actually put the ball in the court, we seem to do well."

Christian Smith admitted that the Vikings had the Chiefs sweating for a bit.

"We played pretty well," he said. "At first, a lot of the guys were nervous out there, but we came back and played strong. We've just got to step up our defense."

Port Washington's head coach Maria Giamanco said that whenever her team meets the Chiefs on the court, sparks fly.

"We match up very, very well, Massapequa and Port Washington," she said. "We made a lot more errors than they did...I think that was the deciding factor."

For Ben Adler, along with the rest of the Vikings, today's loss was an emotional one.

"It's been an interesting season," he said. "Lots of ups and downs...and a lot of it was a learning process and getting the experience. We really expected to go to Counties, but it just didn't work out that way for us."

Daniel Chu, a senior, reflected upon his last year as a Viking.

"Am I disappointed? Yes. But I'm proud," he said. "I had a great career in these past four years, but today...we don't always win, but we don't always lose."

Michael Murphy, also a senior, was nearly brought to tears by the loss.

"I just can't wait for the team next year," he said. "They're going to be great."

Port Washington finishes the season at 12-4.

Massapequa, 12-1, faces Plainview at Hofstra University on November 11, Veteran's Day, at 4:30pm to decide the Nassau Class AA final.