Massapequa boys volleyball team wins first Division I state title
Massapequa players celebrate after the final point to win the state Division 1 championship in boys volleyball against Penfield on Nov. 23, 2025, in Rochester. Credit: Adrian Kraus
ROCHESTER — It took all five sets.
But the Massapequa boys volleyball team claimed its crown.
For the first time in program history, Massapequa won the Division I state title on Sunday at Roberts Wesleyan University. The team defeated Section V’s reigning champion Penfield, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13. Massapequa completed its perfect season at 21-0.
“I set a goal for my team last year,” coach Elissa DiSalvo said. “It was to play volleyball at 3 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2025. We faced a lot of adversity this season with injuries, we have kids playing out of their positions, but none of it mattered. We got here. We reached that goal and beyond.”
For seniors Logan Coady and Jack Stanley, claiming the state title feels like a full circle moment. Massapequa’s last appearance in the state tournament was in 2022, the pair’s freshman year. The team’s season ended in the pool play round.
“I watched us lose at this level four years ago,” Coady said. “To come back as a senior and win it myself is so awesome. I don’t even know how to describe how it feels.”
Coady led the team with a block and 20 kills — including the match point — in the championship. Stanley added 10 kills, three blocks and an ace.
“It’s very, very surreal,” Stanley said. “I’m still speechless. To bring Massapequa its first state title is very special and I’m so glad I got to help lead this team.”
DiSalvo said she knew Penfield would be her team’s most challenging match yet, but that her athletes’ winning mentality willed one another to fight through the five grueling sets.
“The ultimate message going into the fifth set was that we need to play as one,” DiSalvo said. “We win as one and we lose as one and when we drift away from that, things get hard. This match, specifically that fifth set, was the most connected and together I have ever seen this team play.”
Before entering the final round, Massapequa defeated Connetquot, 25-16, 25-17, 25-21, in the semifinals earlier in the day. Connetquot finished 14-5.
Coach Jess Perry said regardless of the result, she is proud of her team for making Connetquot history.
“This is the first time we’ve ever made it this far,” Perry said. “Each one of them fought so hard to get here today and I’m really proud of them for that.”
TJ D’Antonio had 23 assists, two kills and a block in the match.
“It means so much to me to play with such a great group of guys,” D’Antonio said. “As a setter, I have so many offensive weapons. To be the first Connetquot team to make it to states is such a surreal feeling.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
