Kingston High wins to reach state final four
Tigers end 22-year drought with four-set win over previously undefeated New Rochelle
Kingston High’s volleyball team is riding a wave of momentum and that wave has now carried the Tigers into the state final four for the first time in 22 years.
The Tigers clinched a berth in the state tournament Sunday morning with a 25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19 triumph over previously undefeated New Rochelle in a Class AA regional final at SUNY New Paltz.
Kingston, now 16-2, is headed to Cool Insuring Arena (formerly Glens Falls Civic Center) for final four action next Saturday. Opening ceremonies are 7:45 a.m. with Class AA pool play beginning at 8. The top two teams advance to next Sunday’s 10 a.m. championship match.
It marks the second time the Tigers have reached the final four. Kingston made the state semifinals in 1995, before pool play was adopted.
“It’s a great feeling. It’s better than winning sectionals,” Tiger setter Tori Boulay said. “I thought the feeling couldn’t repeat, but it’s even better now.”
“I’m really happy,” middle hitter Grace Longendyke said. “We could have expected this, but it was definitely unexpected. We worked really hard.”
Added Jaid Harrell, “Since my freshman year, I’ve always wanted to be part of a team that won, and I always knew that one of these years it was going to happen. This year I just felt it. As soon as I walked into the gym for summer workouts, I knew that we were going all the way.”
“I don’t think it’s hit any of us yet of what we did,” Kingston coach Nicole Molinaro said. “We made history today. It was awesome. We went into this as we had already accomplished our one goal and we’re setting a new goal.”
Boulay had 34 assists, four kills, 10 digs and dealt four aces to direct the Kingston offense. Harrell had a huge game at the net with 20 kills, 5.5 blocks and 11 digs. Shannon Bonewit had seven kills and 3.5 blocks, Longendyke added seven kills, four blocks, three digs and three aces, while Tori Ost had six kills, 12 digs and two aces for the Tigers. Kailyn Lukaszewski registered 11 digs.
Kingston was in control from the start, jumping out to 7-2 and 14-5 leads in the first set.
“I think we really knew that playing nervous is never effective so, even though, of course, we were a little tight, it didn’t show on the court at all,” Boulay aid. “On the bus, we were talking, ‘Okay, everyone, relax. We’ll be all right.’ We came in and did what we had to do.”
“I honestly think they came in here flat. We were ready. We were pumped,” Harrell said. “We got to see them play Binghamton, which I think gave us the upper hand, because we knew how they all played. We just played our game and we crushed it.”
The Tigers set the tone on the very first point, as Longendyke blocked one of New Rochelle’s top hitters. Olivia Morgan. Harrell, Longendyke, Bonewit and Lukaszewski did a superb job doubling up on blocks on the corners. New Rochelle tried to isolate Harrell, but she countered with cross-court kills to the open space.
The Tigers grabbed a 12-5 lead in the second set. The Huguenots battled to tie at 15, but Kingston went on a 10-2 run to win. Harrell buried a kill deep on the far sideline. Boulay dealt a net-cord ace that even she didn’t believe would go over. She then made a diving save on a Rachel Darius shot. The ball went to Harrell, who set it up for a Longendyke kill. Another Harrell kill, a Longendyke block and another Boulay ace clinched the set.
The only time nerves got to the Tigers was in the third set, which opened the door for New Rochelle. There were five lead changes and the Hugies rallied from an 18-15 deficit. A pair of errors forced Kingston to a fourth set.
“In the third set, I think we were just very excited, ”Harrell said. “Since it was a regional final I think, since we were
up two sets, it got into our heads. We have a lot of excitement, but we didn’t have energy and that’s what we really needed. When we came back, that fourth set, we just took it.”
Boulay admitted, “In that set, it was, ‘Oh my God, we’re about to win’ and we lost sight of what we needed to do.
Kingston again took the early lead in the final set. New Rochelle fought back to tie at 11. The Tigers scored six straight points on Bonewit’s serve to regain control. The Hugies closed to within 21-19, but a Longendyke kill followed by a Harrell block and kill set up a New Rochelle attack error for match point.
“I think there’s a difference between making it this far and knowing that we’re actually capable of winning,” Molinaro said. “I don’t know if they actually believed that until today.”
“We’re just going to practice hard and hope for the best,” Boulay said about the upcoming week. ”We could do well. We can cause some upsets at states, hopefully.”
Said Harrell, “If we can play like we played today in states, I think we’ll do great.”