The Massapequa girls volleyball team has taken care of each opponent that has lined up across from them on the court this year, and Monday afternoon was no different. The Chiefs (5-0, 4-0) swept their rivals to the north in Farmingdale (1-2, 1-2) on the road: 25-16, 25-17 and 25-16.
Lauren Van Buren led the way for Massapequa at the net with a season-high 15 kills as well as three blocks. Erin Bies had 10 digs and Kristen Marchisotto added 32 assists. Julie Teller led Farmingdale with seven kills and Nicole Kayola added nine digs.
Farmingdale hung in tight with visiting Massapequa early in the first set. Although the Chiefs held a firm lead, the Dalers battled back to within four, but their oppositions scored the final five points, including two winning spikes from Van Buren.
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The Dalers took an early 2-1 lead in the second set, but the Chiefs quickly regained the advantage and took a 2-0 overall lead after a service fault from Teller. In the third set, the two teams were tied at 10-10, but Massapequa took the lead for the rest of the way to complete the sweep.
Heroes: Van Buren was a clear leader on the offensive end with her 15 kills. Marchisotto didn’t let much go wrong in the Chiefs’ offense as she tallied 32 assists in three sets.
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Turning Point: In the end of the first set, Van Buren helped close out to take a lead with dominant net play. It only set the tone for the next two sets of the match.
Quotable: “We served well today,” said Massapequa head coach Carol Ann Habeeb-Kiel. “Our passing game and our defensive game has to step up a notch and play a lot better.”
“Although we are young, we hung in there, but we definitely have a ways to go,” said Farmingdale head coach Tom Londino. “We played tremendous defense at times and we were able to execute on plays that we should, so those were two highlights.”
Bottom Line: Massapequa has not lost yet this season, but they say that there is still a lot to work on at this point. In addition to their four league wins, the Chiefs have finished in first place in both the Eastport-South Manor Tournament on Sept. 10 and Hendrick Hudson Tournament last Saturday. Farmingdale was coming off of a five-set loss to Baldwin last Thursday and falls to under .500 for the season.
Key Stat: Marchisotto posted 32 assists in just three games to lead the Chiefs to the win.
Who’s Next: East Meadow @ Massapequa Sept. 21, 6:15 p.m.; Port Washington @ Farmingdale, 5 p.m.
