Sachem North boys volleyball continues its masterful winning streak and captured a Long Island championship.
The top-seeded Flaming Arrows beat Plainview 3-0 at Suffolk West in Brentwood and improved its season record to 17-0 in matches, and 51-0 in sets.
This marks the first Long Island championship in Sachem North boys volleyball history.
“It’s a great feeling because this is a really special group of guys who have committed themselves to this program and Sachem volleyball for so long,” said Sachem coach Matt Rivera. “I know how much they’ve worked for it and how bad they wanted it. I’m so happy for them and proud of them.”
Sachem advances to the NYSPHSAA semifinals in Glens Falls, N.Y., which will take place on Saturday, November 15.
“This is what we’ve been working for,” said Dylan Missry, who led all competitors with 24 kills. “Looking at this 20 years later, this championship will mean everything to me.”
Sachem was also led by Rob Steinberg’s 36 assists and Matt Grace, who had six kills and seven digs.
The Flaming Arrows won the first two sets, 25-10 and 25-15, respectively, but Plainview gave them some stiff competition in the third and final set. After back-and-forth scoring, the final total was 26-24 in Sachem’s favor.
“We knew all the hard work we put in is to prepare us for games like that and that’s why we won,” said Missry. “It’s about sticking together when it gets tough.”
The team piled onto the floor and celebrated like champions, but talk quickly changed to the next goal, which is to win a New York State title.
“They said it to me before we walked off the court,” said Rivera, “‘Now it’s time to get ready for states.'”
“We have to work hard,” added Missry. “We have another week of practice, which is great for us, and then we take a bus trip up and represent Long Island.”
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro