GLENS FALLS – Only a few points, here and there, kept the Westhill girls volleyball team from getting a chance to add a third state Class B championship to the ones it earned in 2018 and 2019.
During last weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, the Warriors were not quite able to get past Saturday night’s tense round-robin play.
Four teams began the tournament – Westhill alongside Section I’s Hendrick Hudson, Section V’s Wayne and Long Island champion Seaford.
Playing Hudson first, Westhill split those two sets, winning the first 25-18 and dropping the second 25-16. Wayne and Seaford split their two sets as well, so everyone was 1-1 through the first round.
The Warriors swept both sets from Seaford 25-16 and 25-14. Thus, if it could win even one set against Wayne, it would advance to the state finals.
Both sets with Wayne were close and hard-fought, but the Eagles prevailed 25-23 in the first and, in the second, both sides had chances to win that set before Westhill fell by a 28-26 margin.
When round robin play ended, Hendrick Hudson, who swept Wayne, was 5-1. The Warriors and Eagles were both 3-3, but since Wayne won both sets, it claimed the tie-breaker and advanced.
Hendrick Hudson would go on to defeat Wayne 25-9, 25-18, 25-17 in the state final, adding a second championship to the one it earned in 2008.
As for Westhill, it finished a 14-2 season and will graduate three seniors – hitter Janiah Robinson, setter Hannah Schmitz and libero Tori Militi. However, the Warriors return the likes of Ava Baty, Sofia Dimovski, Alison Lancette, Sydney Medeiros and Eva Tarolli for 2023.
