Long Beach solves Mepham for county title

Falling twice to top-seeded Mepham during the regular season fueled the fire No. 2 Long Beach brought to the Nassau Class AA girls’ volleyball championship Tuesday night at SUNY-Old Westbury.

And everyone Marines coach Kerri Rehnback relied upon delivered in a big way but none more than seniors Franki Kelleher, Zoe Moller and Amy Littman and juniors Ivanka Priymak and Hayley Lipinski.

Kelleher and Priymak had 12 kills apiece, Lipinski dished out 27 assists, Moller added 15 digs and Littman led the way from the service line as Long Beach turned the tide on the Pirates, rolling to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-20 victory for its first county title since 2018.

“Everyone did their jobs perfectly tonight and it turned out the way we wanted,” Priymak said. “We trusted each other every point. We worked really hard to prepare for what they do and it paid off.”

The Marines, who advanced to face Hauppauge in the Long Island Class AA championship Friday at 10 a.m. at Old Westbury, were not only playing for each other but also their coach.

“It’s coach Rehnback’s last season and it feels great to make it a memorable one for her,” said Lipinski, who along with Kelleher, Priymak and junior Franky DeCicco dominated at the net. “We wanted to get ahead early and winning the first set — even the first point — was important to set the tone,” she added.

Mepham, which took 6 of 9 sets against Long Beach during the regular season and knocked off Great Neck South and Elmont in the playoffs, was led by junior Sam Raikos, senior Sophia Green and junior Abby Palmer.

“It was a great season and I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” Pirates coach Tom Wildeman said. “We had an off night and sometimes you just have to tip your cap. We didn’t bring our passing game and everything fell like Dominoes. Long Beach deserved it. They served strong and we didn’t block nearly as well as we did against Elmont.”

Littman ignited the Marines in the opening set with four early service points and later had three consecutive aces. Priymak, who saved her best performance of the year for the biggest stage, Rehnback said, belted 4 kills in a set capped by a Kelleher ace.

“It’s not like we came in here without confidence, but you could see it build after we won the first set,” Rehnback explained. “There’s always going to be momentum swings in a match. Mepham is a very good team and our girls did a great job of never letting their feet off the gas.”

Long Beach, which defeated Carey and defending state champion Calhoun on the way to the finals, scored 12 of the first 15 points of the second set and was never in danger of relinquishing the lead.

Junior Alyssa Cinquemani sparked Mepham in the third set and the teams split the first 14 points before the Marines began to pull away. DeCicco put away two clutch points at the net, Moller was dynamic on defense and Lipinski, the setter, kept finding Priymak and Kelleher.

The championship point featured a remarkable dig by senior Hailey Cardiello and a kill by Littman.

“I felt so blessed just to get to this point,” said Rehnback, who led the program to a state crown in 2018. “To win it is just incredible.”