Massapequa Boys Volleyball Claims County Championship

In what was arguably their most hard-fought match of the entire season, the Massapequa Chiefs boys volleyball team narrowly overcame the Plainview Hawks to win the Nassau Class AA final, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23.

The win Thursday night at Hofstra secured the Chiefs, now the Country champs, a place in the Long Island final this Saturday against Half Hollow Hills.

In the first game, the Chiefs plowed through the Hawks like they weren't even there, capturing the game quickly, 25-18.

However, Plainview unleashed their A-game, and in a tight second game that saw the score tied several times, they took edged Massapequa, 21-25.

Massapequa was up early in the third, registering 5-0 on the scoreboard after a massive Christopher Husmann spike into Hawks' open court. The Chiefs retained the lead the entire game, claiming it, 25-20.

It appeared that the Chiefs had things all wrapped up in the fourth game, shooting to a commanding 8-0 lead early on. However, Plainview made a massive comeback, and after fighting tooth-and-nail, they managed to win the game, 24-26.

Plainview sustained their momentum into the fifth set, gaining the initial lead. However, it came down to who wanted it more that evening, and in the end, it was the Chiefs, who took the set on a Steven Woessner kill shot, 25-23, taking the County championship home to Massapequa.

Throughout the match, Chris Husmann was a kill machine (nailing 28, plus 14 digs) with ample backing from Christian Smith (12 kills, 26 assists).

The Chiefs' head coach Steve Mariano said his boys seem to work best when playing catch-up.

"Unbelievable," he said. "We've been a bounce-back team all season...we've played a lot from behind, and going into the last game, my focus was to re-group them and get their confidence back after being up 9-1 in the fourth and dropping that game."

Mariano was elated by his team's championship win.

"They have unbelievable resilience, and they fought back," he said. "They wanted it more...they wanted it so bad."

Christopher Husmann said this win was the highlight of his high school volleyball career.

"Amazing...it's the greatest feeling," he said. "Especially when other people step up and make it easier on you."

Due to the importance of tonight's game, top player Husmann played the entire match straight through without being replaced, a test of endurance.

"You're really not paying attention to it," he said. "You just know you're gotta get the next point, the next point."

Husmann simply can't wait for the Long Island finals on Saturday.

"It's going to be amazing," he said. 

Christian Smith said that, after losing their lead, the Chiefs' resolve to win doubled.

"First game we came out really strong...everyone was composed," he said. "Second game we laid back a little, and we lost that game. Third game, we came back strong, and won. Fourth game, we were up by a lot, and they made a huge comeback, some great blocks, and the fifth game it was just all heart. We wanted it more by that point, we fought it out. All the sprints we did during practice really paid off."

The Chiefs planned on taking the rest of the night off. But come Friday, it's back to business to prepare for Half Hallow Hills.

"We're going to celebrate this win first," Smith said. "But we get back to work tomorrow morning. We'll see what happens then."

Jesse Finkel was still out of breath from the intense match, but excited that the Chiefs were now the champs.

"We fought hard," he said. "It's a great feeling."

Massapequa, 13-1, meets Suffolk champion Half Hollow Hills to decide the Long Island Class AA final at Longwood High School on Saturday, November 13.