North Shore girls volleyball's Devyn Mandell keys 5-set win over South Shore
North Shore players celebrate during a Nassau girls volleyball match against South Side on Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026, in Glen Head. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
North Shore’s mental health awareness game began with a speech from Devyn Mandell, as teams lined up wearing shirts that read ‘Mental Health Matters.’ It ended with her slamming down the final point.
Mandell had 21 kills, seven digs, and four aces as host North Shore defeated South Side, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 19-25, 15-10, in Nassau A-I girls volleyball on Wednesday night.
“I’ve always had anxiety with school and volleyball,” Mandell said. “I’ve had a great support system to get through things, but I want it to be normalized, that you can feel that way and get help.”
North Shore jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fifth set after Kaitlyn Dobyn’s ace. South Side pulled within two points on Lyla Walker’s kill, but North Shore scored six of the final nine points to win the match.
North Shore (4-1) took the first set after Mandell’s kill and Lily Bombardiere’s ace. Virgilio picked up kills for North Shore’s final two points of the second. Virgilio finished with 13 kills, five digs and an ace. Bombardiere added 13 digs.
“To get ahead, we used a lot of teamwork and energy building,” Virgilio said. “That’s what we lost midway through, but we found it again going into the fifth set.”
South Side (1-2) found its footing in the third, using a 9-2 run to take a 21-10 lead. Walker had two of her six aces in the set.
“I think we got a little messy and needed to reset,” North Shore coach Dani Bleiweiss said. “Ball control is our number one. It’s not just about getting the ball up. It’s about getting it up the right way.”
Lena Miller dominated the fourth set for the Cyclones, tallying nine of her 14 kills. South Side closed the set on a 10-5 run.
South Side is the reigning Class A state champion and its only defeat last season was a 3-1 loss to North Shore. The Vikings know they can compete with the best and hope it shows in their results this year.
“We’re hoping to take it all the way this year. This team works so hard,” Mandell said. “We have a strong connection and that’s one of the things that helped
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
