Patchogue - Much of the East Hampton girls volleyball team watched the Suffolk County Class A final from the bleachers last year. The environment was just as the Lady Bonackers remembered it on Thursday as the crowd roared with every point, this time as they themselves, unbeaten and mostly unchallenged, went back and forth with second-seeded Eastport-South Manor. As the last ball dropped just wide and East Hampton was officially crowned county champs with a 25-15, 25-20, 28-26 victory over its rivals, there was a whole different feeling within the mass of boisterous Bonac players and fans. The county title, the first in school history, was theirs.

"This group of seniors is very dedicated and they put in the off-season work," Head Coach Kathy McGeehan said. "They've just done everything we've asked them to do, so we couldn't be happier for this whole group."

Shaina Preiss of East Hampton lunges to her left to dig an ESM attack during the third and final game.

East Hampton next squares off against Nassau County champion Wantagh, which as the top seed was able to come back from a 1-0 hole to beat third-seeded Bellmore JFK, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-19. The match is set to begin at 5 p.m. at St. Joseph's. It's the third of four Long Island titles to be settled that day – Hampton Bays meets East Rockaway for the Class C title at 1, John Glenn and West Hempstead then duel in Class B, and the nightcap pits two unbeatens, Suffolk County champ Ward Melville against 2007 state title winner Massapequa, in the AA final.

McGeehan believes her squad will be right in the mix on Saturday. "It's just another step on the road," she said. "We have our sights set on one match at a time. Like all the others, we'll celebrate – it's absolutely euphoric – and then look forward to the next one."

The match got progressively more difficult, with East Hampton imposing its will in the first game. The hitting of Calli Stavola (15 kills) and Myra O'Neil (10 kills) came at the ESM six from every angle. The Lady Sharks were just a step behind the top seed in game two but were never to get back to even. East Hampton twice had leads of seven points during the game. ESM's Jackie Moeller fended off a game point by striking a kill to make it 24-20; the Lady Bonackers didn't have to wait long though as Stavola swooped in and swatted a Sarah Philipbar set to the ground to put their team up two games to none.

Eastport didn't go quietly. It held the largest lead for either team in the third game – four points – at 14-10 and also led 19-16 late. East Hampton came roaring back, tallying four of the next five points, with the last one coming on a Julia Lee serve that evened the game at 20. ESM took the next three but Bonac answered with three more of its own to make it 23-23. The Lady Sharks twice had earned game point opportunities down the stretch – at 24-23 and 26-25 – but couldn't put East Hampton away. Valverde took over service at 26-26 and her booming jump serve caused a receiving error to make it 27-26, and when an ESM attack landed just wide, the Lady Bonackers bench poured onto the floor to celebrate with their teammates.

Kim Valverde rises and smashes a jump serve during the Class A final against Eastport-South Manor.

East Hampton had standout efforts not only from Stavola but also O'Neil up the middle, Philipbar in setting the two up (30 assists) and libero Kim Valverde on the back line (20 digs). McGeehan said called it the most balanced team she's ever had going back three decades on the bench, saying especially that the Lady Bonackers "can attack from everywhere." She had anticipated something special from this senior group – tri-captains Philipbar, Shaina Preiss and Rachel Haab, as well as Stavola, Lee, Summer Foley and Shannon Sheehan – but to go unbeaten to this point was beyond her expectations.

"Our goal going out wasn't to be undefeated," she said. "We never set out that way, but we certainly have been working for this moment since the last ball dropped against Harborfields last year [in the Class A semifinals]."

Back in the locker room, the Lady Bonackers continued their theme for the postseason, chanting "one more duck!" repeatedly, signifying that they had one more target to shoot down – that being Wantagh.

Boys Soccer Blanked By Comsewogue
Shirley - The East Hampton boys soccer team knew that the task at hand on Thursday night in the Suffolk County Class A championship game would require all hands on deck, all pulling in the same direction with great might. Comsewogue, the defending state title winners that had steamrolled its competition the last two months, has had next weekend blocked off since the season started, expecting a return trip to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, site of the state championships.

The Bonackers, the champions of League VI co-champs, had travel plans as well, although Thursday night's 2-0 loss at the hands of Comsewogue means they'll have to cancel. Jeff Vigorito and Mackie Magoulas each found the back of the net for Comsewogue, which continues on to Saturday's Long Island championship game (12 p.m.) at which it will meet South Side. The Cyclones, seeded second in the Nassau Class A draw, needed double overtime to defeat No. 1 Garden City, 1-0, on Wednesday.

"It's a bittersweet loss," said Bonac Head Coach Jim Stewart. "We gave it our best effort, but they're a good team. They're an excellent team."

East Hampton forward Mario Olaya controls the ball along the right side before being challenged by a Comsewogue defender.

East Hampton, in its first county championship game since the program's inception in 1978, dropped to 14-2-3. Stewart was well aware of the opponent's prowess on both ends of the field. The only blemishes on Comsewogue's record came in the season's first week – a 2-1 loss to League III champion Newfield on September 12 and a 2-2 tie against League I runner-up Ward Melville five days later. Since then, it had run off 14 straight wins entering Thursday's county title game; over that span, the Warriors had outscored their opponents by a 53-6 count. In other words, East Hampton had to be close to perfect to prevail.

The defending state champs exhibited their quick-strike ability in the first two minutes. East Hampton charged downfield early, earning a corner kick right off the bat, but the Warriors pushed them back. The Bonackers came at them again, only this time the defense poked the ball away from speeding Ernesto Valverde before he could put a shot on goal. Comsewogue immediately countered with its own attack as Matt Delph took the ball deep into the right corner where he lofted a beautiful cross that hung up for Vigorito in the box. Bonac goalie Brandon West had no defense for the header that followed, and at the 1:53 mark of the first half, Comsewogue was in front.

"They had a very good defense," Stewart said. "It seemed like they didn't let us get the ball to the outside. … We wanted to win but it was not to be."

East Hampton's offensive chances were far too rare, a credit to the Comsewogue defense, which thwarted an attack that averaged nearly three goals a game during the regular season. Two fair opportunities came midway through the first half – Mario Olaya collecting a deep throw-in and spinning it wide at the 22:20 mark, and Adriano Barnes racing into the box to collect a bounding ball only to have goalie Kyle Dougherty slide in. In an effort to redirect the ball, Barnes' foot collided with Dougherty's face and he had to leave the game with an injured jaw and cut lip.

His replacement, Chris Friedl, had a quiet day between the pipes. Consecutive corner kicks in the 52nd minute went by the wayside for East Hampton. In the 67th, Valverde bent a direct kick from 20 yards out around the Warrior wall but it was right at Friedl. It was one of two saves Friedl had to make and the more difficult.

West was busy most of the night, racking up eight saves, including a nice drive toward the left post that required a quick slide from the senior goalie early in the second half. The Warriors threatened consistently throughout the night and finally added insurance with 15:30 gone in the second half. East Hampton defender Anthony Daunt did well to halt a Magoulas charge down the right sideline, lashing the ball toward the middle of the field. However, the ball ended up in the lap of Vigorito, who tapped it forward to Magoulas, who hadn't stopped running toward the net. At the 18, Magoulas continued his move from right to left across the field, found some open space and fired a left-footed laser inside the right post for a nifty goal and a 2-0 Warrior lead.

Midfielder Angel Garces and East Hampton weren't able to mount much of an attack against Comsewogue, which won its 15th straight game.