South Side nets Class A championship

The Nassau Class A girls’ volleyball championship match proved a microcosm of South Side’s season as it battled through consistency issues to capture its third county title in six years.

 “We’ve had so many ups and downs,” coach Cheryl Scalice said after the third-seeded Lady Cyclones defeated No. 1 Manhasset, 25-23, 26-24, 13-25, 25-13 Nov. 9 at SUNY-Old Westbury.

 “Tonight we started a little slow but battled and pulled out the first two sets,” she added. “Then we had to regroup after a bad third set. We aired out some things before the fourth set and the girls, to their credit, went out there and made it happen.”

Senior Caroline Lanzillotta, who wasn’t expected back this season after suffering a broken foot Oct. 23, closed out the opening set with a block and clinched the championship with one of her five kills. Senior Stephanie Jackson (eight kills, 16 digs) sealed an intense second set by converting one of senior setter Jackie Wilkins’ 16 assists. Wilkins added 20 digs, junior Caroline LaMacchia had 23, junior Colleen Farrell had eight kills, sophomore Jaden Garelle had five and senior Dorothy Leake was solid all around.

“It’s just the best feeling in the world,” Wilkins said. “Nobody thought we’d make it this far. It means so much because we beat two great teams, Manhasset and Wantagh, to do it. We definitely came a long way and never stopped working for this.”

South Side, which defeated Wantagh to win the 2012 and 2014 Class A crowns, rallied from one set down to defeat the second-seeded Lady Warriors in the semifinals on Nov. 7. The Lady Cyclones finished 15-4 overall after falling to undefeated Kings Park in last Saturday’s Long Island Class A title match. 

“One of the greatest things about this team is depth,” Scalice said. “Their depth and ability to fight allowed them to work through some of the inconsistency. We rarely had everyone on the same page at the same time, but different girls stepped up at different times.” 

That was especially the case in the second set when South Side rallied from a 21-15 deficit. Jackson and Farrell were the catalysts, but contributions were widespread with Wilkins, Farrell, Leake and junior Alexa Fingleton all scoring clutch points. 

Wilkins couldn’t put her finger on what went awry in the third set, when Manhasset put it all together with its back against the wall and nearly doubled up the Lady Cyclones. But she knew one thing for certain: “After the semifinals, going five sets again wasn’t an option,” Wilkins said. “We had to refocus and stay calm.” 

Wilkins' six straight service points to begin the fourth set helped South Side regain momentum in a hurry and it led comfortably on the way to a celebratory dogpile. 

“I’m really proud,” Scalice said.