17 Photos
Westhampton Beach senior captain Matt Lambert and the rest of his Hurricane teammates shake hands with Grand Island after suffering a 2-0 loss to the Vikings in the first match of pool play in Saturday's state championship.
Westhampton Beach junior Hank Scherer goes up for a kill. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior Luke Farnan sends the ball over the net. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior captain Matt Lambert records a dig. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior Blake Busking sets the ball. DREW BUDD
Junior Ryan Barnett's strong serving in the second game fueled a short rally for Westhampton Beach in the match against Jamesville-DeWitt. DREW BUDD
The Albany Capital Center, just built in 2017, was the site of this year's New York State Boys Volleyball Championships. DREW BUDD
Many from the Westhampton Beach community made the hours-long ride to Albany to support the boys volleyball team. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior co-captain Matt Lambert records a dig in the first match against Grand Island. DREW BUDD
Matt Lambert and teammates listen in on what head coach Jackie Reed has to say. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach head coach Jackie Reed jots down a few notes in her book. DREW BUDD
A number of players, such as sophomore Conor Farnan, shed some tears after the Hurricanes lost all four of its games and not advancing to the finals. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach sophomore Daniel Haber sends the ball over the net. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior Micah Terry sends the ball over. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior Blake Busking sets the ball for a teammate. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior setter Blake Busking tries to get the ball over the net but is stopped by Grand Island junior Billy Weiberg. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach head coach Jackie Reed speaks with senior Micah Terry. DREW BUDD
The best season in the history of the Westhampton Beach boys volleyball program came to close on Saturday afternoon after it lost its second match of pool play, 2-0, to Jamesville-DeWitt. Because the Hurricanes lost all four of their games — having lost its first two to Grand Island earlier in the day — there is no chance they can move on to the championship match later this afternoon.
Jamesville-DeWitt and Grand Island are currently playing their scheduled pool play match but both teams are most likely playing their non-starters with the result having no effect on which teams move on.
Westhampton Beach and Jamesville-DeWitt traded points throughout the first game of their match, so much so that it took extra points to decide it. After a point by Westhampton Beach senior Micah Terry tied it at 30-30, a kill by senior co-captain Matthew Cieplicki gave Jamesville a 31-30 lead, and then the ’Canes were called for an error at the net giving the Red Rams the hard-fought win at 32-30.
The second game wasn't as competitive, with Jamesville taking a 9-2 start. Strong serving by junior Ryan Barnett fueled a short run for Westhampton Beach, but that was cut short on a kill from senior co-captain Kenny Hildreth. The Rams went on to win the second game, 25-17.
The Westhampton Beach boys volleyball team finds itself behind early on at the New York State Championships at the Albany Capital Center on Saturday.
The Long Island Champion Hurricanes just dropped their first match of pool play, 2-0, to Grand Island (Section VI-Western New York). Both teams had long runs in the first game but the Vikings eventually came out on top, 25-20. Then the Vikings got out to what was at one point a 14-3 lead before the ’Canes fought back and even put a bit of a scare the Niagara Falls-based team, cutting their deficit to just three points at 23-20 before a kill by senior Tom Shemik and an unforced error clinched the game and match for Grand Island, 25-20.
Westhampton Beach is about 10 minutes away from playing its second match of the day against Jamesville-DeWitt (Section III-Central New York). It will need to win the match to advance to the finals, which begin at 3 p.m. Grand Island and Jamesville-DeWitt will play directly following Westhampton Beach/Jamesville-DeWitt.
Updates will follow.
