The Ossining Volleyball team has had their very own Section 1 Cinderella story. They had a very rocky season, starting off very slow, but then found their groove and took off finishing out the regular season 14-7, respectively. Entering the Section 1 Class AA tournament, they were the 8th seed, although that did not discourage them. First they beat Arlington, then the number 1 seeded Mahopac in a five set thriller. Next, they dominated the 4th seed, Ursuline, in the semi-finals in a three set shutout, not giving Ursuline any chances to prevail. Finally, they reached the Section 1 Class AA final which Mychael Vernon, the star outside hitter, explained was their goal for the season. They had to face a very strong North Rockland team, the number 2 seed. It was a tense game loaded with challenges. Ossining came out striking in the first set with a sizable lead beating NRHS 25-16. Mychael Vernon led the way in that set with many kills, not to mention great blocking by the two tall seniors Eliana Henriquez and Sophia Farmakopoulos. They lost the next set 17-25 as North Rockland’s defense was heightened greatly, coupled with a few mistakes on Ossining’s part. Disappointingly, OHS lost the following set in a great fight as North Rockland’s stellar defense kept them alive late in the set with a beautiful pancake. This tied the set at 25 a piece, Ossining, unfortunately very rattled, could not recover and lost 25-27. One could see in the beginning of the next set the OHS girls were looking very discouraged. This lead to North Rockland celebrating early, causing a determination and surge on Ossining’s part, as they won 25-20. The arena at Pace University in Pleasantville was electric, as Ossining’s upset was a possibility. Both side’s fan sections were loudly cheering, helping to lift their teams’ spirits. Though Ossining’s fan section can never be overpowered by any other team’s. Ultimately the last set was very close but the underdog 8 seed had a late surge. Everyone from Ossining was yelling “5 MORE POINTS”, then in the blink of an eye everyone progressed to repeating “1 MORE POINT”. In the last play of the game, Mychael Vernon setup Sofia Farmakopoulos, who delivered the final kill of the game. This was a very special kill for Sofia, as she missed out on the Section final last year due to an injury. The Ossining crowd went wild because of the enormous feat Ossining had just executed, and in very dramatic fashion.

Unfortunately, OHS lost in the Regional Championship to the very experienced Pine Bush team out of Section 9. They were unable to emulate earlier success due to PBHS’s error free game and heightened confidence. Ossining held their heads high because of the huge season they had. Now they have their sights set on next year, as they only graduate two seniors, Eliana Henriquez and Sophia Farmakopoulos, and will still have the height that brought them to this point.