South Side girls volleyball's Keira Mullaney, Lena Miller lead team to first state title since 1993
South Side wins the state class A girls volleyball championship after defeating Williamsville South in Glens Falls on Saturday. Credit: /Stephen Weaver
GLENS FALLS — It may still feel like a dream to South Side, but soon reality will set in. The Cyclones are state champions for the first time since 1993.
South Side defeated Williamsville South, 25-22, 18-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-12, to claim the girls volleyball state Class A title on Saturday night at Harding Mazzotti Arena.
“When I was going up to receive my medal, I was thinking, 'pinch me, because this feels like a dream,'” Tess Rakeman said. “I can’t believe this is real life. We worked so hard for this moment and we actually did it.”
The Cyclones trailed 5-1 in the fifth set. South Side responded with a 7-2 run to take the lead as Keira Mullaney had two kills and an ace to close out the run.
“It all comes back to the passion and grit that our team shows,” Mullaney said. “We want it more for each other than we do for ourselves. We knew the season was going to end, but it was going to end on a good note.”
Williamsville South tied it at eight after a kill by University at Buffalo commit, Angelina Siepierski. South Side got back-to-back blocks from Caitlin Ferrari and Lena Miller to retake the lead.
Williamsville South scored three straight to tie it at 11, but South Side closed the game on a 4-1 run, with a kill from Allie Fingleton and two kills from Miller, including the final point.
“In that situation I’m not thinking, it’s all just muscle memory,” Miller said. “I know Amy Berenbroick is going to get me a good set. I can just snap at the ball and hope everything goes great.”
South Side led 16-15 in the fourth set following a Mullaney kill with the chance to win a state title in four, but Williamsville South closed the set on a 10-2 run.
South Side trailed 18-14 in the third but closed out the set on a 11-0 run. Miller had three kills, Fingleton and Mullaney each had a kill, Ferrari had a block and Maeve Britt had an ace during the run.
“We’ve been really good at bouncing back. All throughout the playoffs and regular season, we forget the previous points, whether they’re won or lost,” Miller said. “That’s been a main staple of our game and it was a key part of what won it for us today.”
Williamsville South had its largest lead of the match in the second as it went ahead 18-8. South Side got to within four after Mullaney’s kill, but Williamsville South ended the set on a 4-1 run, with Gabriella Hodgson’s kill closing it out.
The Cyclones trailed 17-14 in the first. Mullaney had three consecutive kills to tie it and another to put South Side ahead 19-18. Miller had a block and kill to score South Side’s final two points. Mullaney had eight of her 24 kills in the set.
Miller had 20 kills, three blocks and an ace. Fingleton had seven kills and a block. Britt and Josie Burke each had two aces.
“I knew that personally, I didn’t want to walk out of here with any regrets,” Mullaney said. “I put every ounce of me into that game. I know if I worked hard, I could get everyone around me fired up and I think we all maintained great energy.”
South Side’s captured the program's first state title since winning the Class B crown in 1993.
“Our whole year has been about writing a story, chapter by chapter,” South Side coach Steve Mariano said. “I told them the story wasn’t over just because we made it up here. We still had to write the final chapter and they filled in the perfect ending.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
