Regis sweeps Sea to capture fifth straight CHSAA boys' volleyball title

The third time wasn’t the charm St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s boys’ volleyball team hoped it would be Wednesday night in Manhattan.

Top-seeded Regis rolled to a 3-0 sweep — 25-14, 25-20, 26-24 — for its fifth straight CHSAA city championship and third in four years over the second-seeded Vikings.

“We gave everything we had," said Sea senior captain Matt Masucci. “Regis is a very good opponent. We wanted to go out with a championship obviously.”

Masucci is a hard-hitting left-hander who led the Vikings on and off the court.

"I started with the program four years ago," he said. "Put in a lot of hard work, kept at it, talking guys to come out for the team. I want to thank everyone who has been involved and I wish this program the best for years to come."

Eric Biscocho and Masucci are the lone four-year seniors who helped launch Sea’s first volleyball team in 2012.

“Three championship games, not too bad,” said Masucci.

Second-year head coach Brian Duffy praised Masucci’s efforts.

"He's a lefty who really hits it hard," said Duffy. "He picks everybody up when they're down and gets everybody going."

There was even some laughter coming out of the Vikings' final post-game meeting.

“At the end of the day, it’s whether your heads are up or down,” said Duffy. “Every single kid in the room left it all on that court. They had their eyes locked on me and their heads were up.”

Regis senior middle-hitter Michael Flood was the best player on the court, controlling the action with a barrage of powerful shots.

The 6-foot-3 Flood was missing when Sea took the Raiders to a five-game regular-season marathon before falling 25-12, 26-28, 25-23, 24-26, 15-12 in Huguenot.

“A really talented volleyball player,” said Duffy. “He does it all.”

Regis seniors Kiernan Talty, Ryan Conlon and Timothy Foxen joined junior Owen MacDonnell in a relentless attack based on the foundation of sharp passing and defensive awareness.

Sea jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Flood triggered an 8-0 run that set the tone in the first game.

The Vikings rallied from deficits to pull even in both the second and third games before momentum swung the Raiders' way again. They trailed 24-21 with Regis smelling blood in the finale, but scored three unanswered points to draw even.

Sea seniors Matt Matrangolo, Nick Ursini and Andrew Killips played their final matches, while junior Reece Masucci and sophomore Michael Matrangolo will be among the top returnees.