Oceanside contending for conference title

The prospect of a straight-sets victory had vanished, but the Oceanside boys' volleyball team was still in comfortable command, poised to boot Hicksville from the clubs' shared roost atop Nassau Conference 1B.

But as the Comets kept surging back from the brink to even the match at two sets apiece in a clash of unbeatens Sept. 21, it was suddenly also the Sailors who found themselves staring at possible eviction.

"We came out swinging against our top competition, but we dug ourselves a hole in the third and fourth sets," said first-year Oceanside coach Amanda Peluso, whose team sought to extend a 5-0 streak to start the season.  

"Before the fifth set we huddled and I said we had to play like we did in the beginning,” Peluso said. “I said we were better, we could beat this team if we just play our game, if we fight for these next 15 points.”  

“Then,” she added, “that's exactly what we did.”

Senior Ryan Piccola took Oceanside’s service – as well as his coach’s advice – to start the final frame, powering the Sailors’ return to form in a staunch 11-5 fifth-set win as Oceanside outlasted host Hicksville 3-2 and moved to 6-0 on the season.

“We were able to pull ahead of [Hicksville] thanks to some great serves by Ryan,” Peluso said of the second-year setter whose 42 assists on the night were a season high. “But really the whole team came together for the win, which shows our capabilities.”

Piccola ranks fifth in the league with 152 assists – the product, by and large, of two fruitful collaborations: outside hitter Jake Cadiz and middle hitter Ethan Lisi – both seniors – lead Oceanside (7-2, 7-1 in 1B) with 140 and 80 kills, respectively.

Cadiz had 22 kills to lead the Sailors at Hicksville, while his 27 winners on Sept. 17 marked a season high in Oceanside’s 3-1 league win over visiting Valley Stream Central.

“Jake is great, very aggressive at the net,” Peluso said. “He can get around blocks on the other side, which is half the battle of being a hitter. He goes cross, goes line, just finds those open spots.”

With a half-game edge at Herald press time over both Levittown-Division – which bested Oceanside Sept. 27 – and Hicksville (which beat Division), the first-place Sailors, heading into the season’s second half, look to defend their coveted perch in winner-take-all 1B.

To this end, the recent return of outside hitter Declan Costello has given the Sailors a timely shot in the arm, said Peluso, also noting the pivotal play of first-year starters Jake Ducorsky and Sebastian Morales on Oceanside's back-row.

“Sebastian and Jake have really been able to control things back there,” Peluso said. “More than just filling gaps, they’ve been able to do all we’ve needed.”

“Everyone has an important role,” Peluso added. “We’re doing well but we have to keep it up, keep working. Going into the second half of the season, with three teams fighting for that one spot to get in the playoffs, we have to make sure, like we said against Hicksville, to just keep playing our game.”