Thursday, March 27, 2025
Roslyn’s dominant net presence denied Lawrence’s bid for its first boys’ volleyball county title since 2004.
Led by Tomer Gilady, Zachary Kuppersmith and Benjy Rubin,, the top-ranked Bulldogs totaled 16 blocks and held off a spirited comeback try by the Golden Tornadoes to capture their second Nassau Division II title in four years with a 25-15, 25-14, 26-28, 25-14 victory Nov. 12 at Wantagh High School.
Gilady, a junior, recorded eight kills and six blocks, Kuppersmith, a senior, had nine kills, three blocks and four aces and Rubin, a junior, added seven kills and four blocks. “Blocking set the whole game up,” Gilady said.
Second-seeded Lawrence, which reached the championship stage with thrilling five-set, come-from-behind wins over No. 7 New Hyde Park in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Valley Stream North in the semis, didn’t lead Roslyn by more than one point in either of the first two sets but came alive in the third set behind juniors Elijah Tolley and Jacob Hooks.
“We didn’t play our best and Roslyn played close to a perfect match,” longtime Golden Tornadoes coach George Klein said. “We blocked well, but they blocked exceptionally well. Credit to them.”
With sophomore Joseph Kim at the service line, Roslyn set the tone for the night by scoring the first seven points. Lawrence (14-5) managed to get as close as 9-6, but the Bulldogs were too tenacious in the front row. Junior Aaron Bergman, Rubin and Gilady combined for four blocks in one volley alone, making it 23-14 before additional blocks by Gilady and Kuppersmith.
The teams split the first eight points of the second set before Roslyn went on a 5-1 run and forced Klein to call timeout. Lawrence responded to the pep talk and got within 11-10 behind the efforts of senior Derrick Reyes, junior setter Mailo Rozas and sophomore Corey Shakur. However, another spurt by the Bulldogs, this one 9-2, put the second set out of reach and the Golden Tornadoes on the brink.
“We showed in the previous two matches we’re never out of it,” Klein said.
A bleacher full of Lawrence supporters had plenty to cheer about in the third set and the place was buzzing as Tolley put his team on his back. He had 8 of his 13 kills in the third plus two service aces. Still, Roslyn led 23-20 and was knocking on the door of a sweep before senior Angel Vasquez belted a key kill and Skakur and Tolley saved match points. A kill by Hooks gave the Golden Tornadoes a 27-26 lead and a wide hit by Roslyn finished off the set.
“The gym was rocking but we couldn’t keep the momentum going,” Klein said. “We have a great following from parents, relatives and the entire community. We had tremendous support all year.”
The Bulldogs blew out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set and led by at least four the rest of the way. They advanced to face Eastport/South Manor for the Long Island championship.
Tolley, Hooks, Shakur and Rozas earned All-County honors. Reyes and junior libero were All-Conference.
