The Section 1 Class AA championship match came down to the final point of the decisive fifth set at the Westchester County Center Nov. 7.
No. 5 Yorktown (18-4), the defending sectional champion, faced No. 3 Lakeland (19-3), with the title ultimately resting on a play by Huskers sophomore Emma McCoy (11 digs, 26 kills, one block, 1 assist).
McCoy, near the sideline, wound up and struck the ball with her right hand, sending it over the net. Lakeland attempted to return it but was unable to, giving McCoy the match-winning kill and the Huskers a thrilling 15-13 victory in the fifth set to secure back-to-back sectional titles.
“A big part of working on my winning mindset is visualization,” McCoy said. “From the moment I got on that court, I drew out how I wanted myself to play. Volleyball is a game of mistakes; so it’s inevitable to not go perfectly to plan, but as we dropped two sets, I decided that there was no other option but to give my 200 percent. The team did the same. Earning the game-winning kill really came through with visualization and pure belief in me and my team.”
The win meant the world to Yorktown senior captain Kailey Alexander (1 dig, 12 kills, 2 blocks).
“As stressful as the game was, it felt amazing to play our hearts out and show all the skill and talent we have at Yorktown volleyball,” Alexander said. “Lakeland is a great team so to have the win be against them, made it even more sweet.”
Lakeland won the first set, 25-13, while the Huskers took the second, 25-18.
The teams continued to trade sets, with Lakeland taking the third 25-16 on a kill by Mia Aquart.
Yorktown answered by winning the fourth set 25-20, capped by an emphatic kill by Alexander, setting the stage for McCoy’s match-winning play.
“During that play, I was telling myself that I need to end this set and win it for my team,” Alexander said. “We all wanted to win so bad and I used that as my motivation to keep playing tough and lay it all out on the court.”
Sophia Delgado (2 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace, 22 assists), Mia Horn (19 digs, 9 kills, 6 aces), Angelina Piechucki (2 digs, 6 kills), Nina Fasce (11 digs, 2 aces, 34 assists), junior captain Haley Allen (18 digs, 1 ace, 2 assists), Ella Chibbaro (2 digs, 3 kills, 2 blocks), senior captain Olivia Brackett (1 dig, 4 kills, 3 blocks), Gianna Dinome (1 dig, 1 ace), Ava Fernandez, Paige Baddeley, Rachel Hess, Julia Scavello, head coach Gigi Kemp, who now has 271 career wins, and her sister, assistant coach Sunnie Killeen, along with McCoy and Alexander, make up the Huskers’ championship squad.
Lakeland was led by Kelly Mallon with 18 kills, 16 digs, 3 aces; Sofia Cruz with 28 assists, 11 digs; Caelyn Faison with 7 kills, 6 blocks; Aquart with 16 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces; Ava Stabile with 14 digs; and Amelia Mallon with 9 assists.
Both teams hosted sectional semifinal games on Nov. 3.
Yorktown beat No. 8 Roy C . Ketcham, who it shared the league title and split two regular-season matches with, 3-1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-13, 25-19), ignited to the win by Delgado (14 digs, 2 aces, 19 assists), Horn (18 digs, 11 kills), Fasce (12 digs, 1 ace, 21 assists), Allen (11 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace, 3 assists), Brackett (3 digs, 10 kills, 3 blocks, 1 assist), and McCoy (8 digs, 14 kills, 2 blocks, 2 assists).
Lakeland defeated No. 7 Harrison 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21), led by Kelly Mallon with 23 kills, 17 digs, 2 aces; Cruz with 38 assists, 12 digs, 5 kills; Faison with 12 kills, 7 blocks; Aquart with 17 kills, 10 digs; Stabile with 14 digs; and Amelia Mallon with 12 assists.
Yorktown is scheduled to play Section 9 champion Cornwall in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 at John Jay-Cross River High School. It is a rematch of last year’s regional semifinal, won by Yorktown 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23), highlighted by Alexander getting her 100th-career block in the second set.
The winner of that match will play in the regional final against the Long Island champion, also at John Jay at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14.
If the Huskers win both matches, it will enable them to return to the state tournament for the second consecutive season, with last season being the first time in program history that they made it that far.
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