Maria Regina needed a little boost. After dropping a wild five-set match just a day earlier to Preston, the Tigers found themselves down a set to the Panthers with first place on the line.
Tiffany Robertson provided – just not with a kill or a block. The senior middle hitter has a few song and dance numbers she performs in the huddle with messages like “shake it off” and “don’t fade, can’t fade, won’t fade.”
“She has the energy and attitude that everyone else needs,” coach Liz Pugsley said. “It’s the way she sings it. It’s wonderful to watch.”
It was just what the doctor ordered.
Maria Regina came back and won the next three sets for a 13-25, 25-23, 25-24, 25-21 victory over Preston in a CHSAA Bronx/Westchester girls volleyball first-place tiebreaker at Cardinal Spellman in The Bronx. It is the Tigers’ first division title since 2005. There was ample celebration afterward – with some singing and dancing to boot.
“We haven’t had this spot in more than five years,” Pugsley said. “We were excited.”
The coach did warn her players not to celebrate too soon, though. Preston (8-3) came back from down a set Tuesday to win in five, setting up the tiebreaker. Maria Regina (9-2) made sure to put the hammer down Wednesday, never letting its rival back into the match.
“All of a sudden, it just switched after the first set,” Pugsley said. “Something happened. It’s one of those things that all great moments are made of. They all started playing together. They fed off one another. They jelled the way they should be.”
Robertson and Elaina Greco both had eight kills, Sofia Przybylek had seven kills and Samantha Miano had six kills. Stephanie Maldacker had a big all-around match with five kills and 10 digs. Maria Regina has now earned the top seed from Bronx/Westchester and will get a bye into the CHSAA Archdiocesan semifinals, set for Nov. 4.
Pugsley hopes she can bottle her team’s performance Wednesday for the postseason.
“Talking to each other is one thing; listening is another,” she said. “It was like they finished each other’s sentence except with playing a volleyball.”
PSAL CLASS A
Brooklyn Tech 2, Grand Street Campus 0: Colette Littell had 17 kills, Amy Ye had 10 aces and 14 digs and Katherine Vaskevich had five aces to lead Tech (10-0) to a 25-2, 25-13 win in Brooklyn A2. Alexandra Kiosse had nine assists, Valerie Turner had nine digs and Iryna Anufriyeva had five kills. Grand Street is 3-6.
Seward Park 2, Washington Irving 0: Sidasia Johnson had five kills, Lisbeth Cruz had eight assists and Debora Santoso had eight digs for Seward (7-2) in a 25-14, 25-18 in Manhattan A4. Washington Irving is 0-10.
Bryant 2, Edison 0: Carmen Clavijo had eight kills and Viviana Portillo had nine assists and five aces for Bryant (10-0) in a 25-16, 25-20 win in Queens A8. Raluca Mosora had seven assists. Kelsey Agard had six assists and five digs for Edison (1-9).
Flushing 2, Van Buren 0: Huizhen Gao had six kills and Stephanie Alvarado had 10 assists for Flushing (8-2) in a 25-11, 25-14 win in Queens A8. Karina Wong had five digs for Van Buren (5-5).
Brandeis 2, Bayard Rustin 1: Arely Mayen had eight kills and nine digs and Alexis McMillian had six kills and 14 assists for Brandeis (5-5) in a 25-16, 21-25, 25-16 win in Manhattan A4. Eunice Adelani and Massiel Arellano each had five digs. Bayard Rustin is 3-7.
PSAL CLASS B
Campus Magnet 2, Far Rockaway 0: Saleesha Matthews had five kills and 12 aces and Andrea Bridglal had 13 aces and six assists for Campus Magnet (7-3) in a 25-3, 25-7 win in Queens B9. Far Rockaway is 2-8.
Springfield Gardens 2, August Martin 1: Kianna Cunningham had six kills and six assists to lead Springfield (3-7) to a 19-25, 25-16, 25-21 win in Queens B9. Martin is 0-10.
OTHER SCORES
New Dorp 2, Curtis 0
Lane 2, Boys & Girls 1
Julia Richman 2, A.P. Randolph 1