Kennedy's coming up aces

With four straight trips to the Nassau Class B boys volleyball championship match — and three titles — and a 15-0 mark to its credit so far this fall (13-0 in Conference AA-III), Kennedy’s been successful in overcoming all types of adversity.

The Cougars dropped their first match of the Plainview-JFK Invitational Tournament to the host Hawks last Saturday, but behind the play of junior setter/right side hitter Gary Anderson, who earned MVP honors, and senior outside hitter Steven Gassert, named to the All-Tournament Team, the Cougars won their next four matches to capture the title. They defeated Plainview-JFK in the championship round rematch (25-19, 19-25, 15-10), advancing to the finals with victories over Walt Whitman, Syosset and Long Beach.

“Any time you have seven seniors on the team, they want to make that season something special,” coach Dennis Ringle said. “They talk about it being the best year for Kennedy.”

Though Anderson — who also earned MVP honors at an earlier tournament — and Gassert led the way, they were hardly the only contributors on a Kennedy team currently missing two starters because of injury. Riding the serve of senior setter Jake Sherman, a three-year starter, the Cougars ripped off an 18-2 run in a game against Syosset and moved into the semifinals with Long Beach. “His leadership the last week and a half to two weeks has helped carry us through,” Ringle said. “He has great placement and great energy.”

Senior middle blocker Ron Gutman, one of the team’s most improved players along with junior Justin Fiegeles, controlled the net in the championship round win. Lining up next to Gutman, senior middle blocker Matt Migdal has developed into the Cougars’ top blocker, using his quickness and leaping ability at the net.