Long Island Volleyball History is Made in Stunning Fashion

This past week, history was officially made.

I wrote about how Long Island volleyball history would be made when Smithtown High School East and Smithtown High School West took their rivalry outdoors for the first official outdoor high school volleyball match on Long Island. Now that it has happened, I'm not sure even the biggest optimist could have predicted just how good it would look.

The game was visually stunning, and the play was just as captivating.

Held at Smithtown High School East, the event was months in the making. What started as an idea from East girls volleyball coach George Alamia eventually turned into something much bigger, thanks to plenty of meetings, planning and community support.

SCSD Director of Athletics Jason Lambert said the event exceeded expectations, especially once everyone saw the finished product.

The players seemed to agree.

Smithtown High School West senior Logan Singleton said he was blown away by the court and admitted he had no idea something like this was even possible.

Smithtown East senior Brianna Cerullo also took in the moment, calling the setup super cool and saying it was amazing that the program was able to create something like this for the athletes.

And then there was the volleyball.

When the final points were played, Smithtown East swept both the boys and girls matches, winning each one 3-0. Obviously, that made for a great day for the East program, but the final scores weren't really what people will remember most.

What will stick with everyone is the fact that Smithtown created something that had never been done before on Long Island.

There was an outdoor court, the rivalry atmosphere and two schools coming together to put on an event that looked like it belonged on a much bigger stage.

For the players, it was a chance to be part of something they will be able to tell people about for years. For the community, it was a pretty cool opportunity to watch local athletes make history in their own backyard.

Sometimes an idea sounds great when it is first discussed, but there is always a question about whether it can actually come together.

This one did.

And it didn't just come together — it looked fantastic.

Long Island now has its first official outdoor high school volleyball match in the history books, and Smithtown East and Smithtown West will forever be the two programs that made it happen.