BY BEN STRACK
Two programs with championship pedigree clashed on Oct. 5, as the Nassau County Class A’s Massapequa Chiefs took care of their Class B counterpart, Bellmore JFK in straight games, 25-15, 25-22 and 25-19.
The teams have had their fair share of success over the years, including a Bellmore state championship in 2012 and Massapequa’s five straight county titles from 2008-12, including a Long Island Championship in 2011. Despite being a quick three-setter, JFK (8-2) seemed to pose a challenge to Massapequa (8-0), which head coach David Vogel said is crucial for his team.
“I’m happy because Nassau County volleyball is very healthy right now. There’s a lot of teams at the top and it helps us grind through that regular season,” said Vogel. “It helps make [my team] a little tougher too, which is definitely necessary down the stretch.”
After rolling past the Cougars in the first game, the Chiefs found themselves with a deficit in the second. Bellmore’s Mike Ianniello had kills on three of the Cougars’ first 10 points, helping stretch the home team’s lead to 10-6.
But Massapequa would close the gap on multiple occasions, with timely blocks and kills from Chiefs’ middle hitter Matthew Fasulo. The 6-foot-6 “and a half” junior’s big block stopped Bellmore’s momentum temporarily as the Chiefs closed the Bellmore lead to 11-10. Fasulo kills at 12-10 and 13-11 kept Massapequa a point behind, but Ianniello’s hot hand helped extend the JFK advantage to 16-13.
Down 18-15, the Chiefs found their form, as a five-point run began with a kill by Massapequa’s John Carroll, who finished the match with seven kills and three blocks. A Bellmore carry was then followed by a dual block from Fasulo and setter Alec Helford to knot up the contest. They looked at each other and smiled, debating who took the brunt of the would-be kill.
“That’s our little thing,” said Fasulo, who tallied seven kills and a team-high five blocks in the win. “We see who gets the block and we push each other because whoever gets it, we say [the person who didn’t get it] gets the next one.”
Fasulo would tally two more kills before the game was over to maintain the edge, as teammate Patrick Clyne clinched the stanza with a bullet that ricocheted off blockers’ hands toward the spirited crowd of parents.
With the third game tied at 18-18 following kills from Bellmore’s Ianniello and setter Josh Levine, Massapequa would win seven of the game’s final eight points, capped off once again by Clyne.
“They’re a very scrappy team and we knew that from walking in,” Fasulo said. “So we knew we had to place the ball in a smart position in order to win and we challenged them by hitting different areas instead of going in the same spot.”
Fasulo and Carroll’s timely blocks and seven kills apiece led the way against Bellmore, but threats loom around the floor for Massapequa, who have had strong performances from attackers like Clyne, Andrew Smith, Kevin Gannon and Stephen Codispodo in the first half of the season.
“There’s no one standout player,” Vogel said. “They play a lot more as a team and we do have a lot of weapons so we do a good job of spreading the ball and attacking in a variety of different ways.”
Monday’s Nassau A-1/B-1 crossover was the undefeated Massapequa squad’s fourth, three-set win as they followed it up with another against Farmingdale on Thursday, Oct. 8. Their toughest challenge so far was a five-set thriller on Sept. 25 at Plainview JFK, the team that defeated them in last year’s County Championship.
Though hoping to get back there again and win the Nassau title for the first time in three seasons, Massapequa first looks ahead to this week’s home matchups against East Meadow on Oct. 16.
