CENTRAL NEW YORK – Just one post-season match was required for the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team to add yet another Section III championship to its ever-lengthening list of titles earned in the last three decades.
And it turned out to be one of the most memorable victories in program history.
Accustomed to rolling to titles, the Bees had to take the long, hard path in Saturday’s sectional final at Emerson J. Dillon School in Phoenix, dropping the first two sets before rallying to beat no. 2 seed Liverpool in five.
Perhaps part of the problem was the fact that B’ville had not played a match in more than two weeks, its 12-0 regular season ending back on Oct. 24 with a sweep of Henninger.
Since only three teams were in the sectional AAA tournament, B’ville had a bye straight to the finals and had to watch Liverpool sweep no. 3 seed Cicero-North Syracuse before it knew who it would face.
Liverpool had reason to think it could win here, having pushed the Bees to four sets on Sept. 18 and then to a 15-11 fifth set when they last went head-to-head on Oct. 10.
Having lost the first set to the Warriors in that previous meeting, B’ville tried to reverse that trend in the final, only to let a 21-20 lead get away when Liverpool earned five unanswered points to take it 25-21.
They were close in the second set, too, and again the Warriors made the strong closing kick, this time with an 8-2 push that produced a 25-20 decision and left the Bees a set from having it sectional title run end.
Instead of folding, though, B’ville promptly went out in the third set and took it 25-16. Then it matched that score to win the fourth set and even the match.
Again the Warriors and Bees would need a fifth set, and it was closer this time around. No one held a lead larger than three points, but B’ville forged its way in front 14-12 and now had two match points.
Though able to fend off the first one, Liverpool could not do so the second time and B’ville celebrated its come-from-behind win.
Madison MacKaig, with 31 assists, and Addy Garcia, with 19 digs, led the comeback as MacKaig also picked up seven kills, four blocks, three aces and seven digs.
Amelia Hahn finished with 15 kills, with Mallory Offredi getting 10 kills. Natalie Dauphinais earned eight kills, four blocks and an ace as Aaniya Johnson stepped up with five blocks.
The Bees’ victory sets up a regional final next Saturday at Homer High School against long-time nemesis Shenendehowa.
Back on Monday night, B’ville’s boys volleyball team, holding the no. 5 seed in the sectional Division I playoffs, visited no. 4 seed C-NS in the opening round and lost in three sets to the Northstars.
A lopsided opening set went 25-8 in C-NS’s favor. Far closer in the second set, the Bees nearly pulled even, only to have the Northstars take it 25-22 before a 25-17 loss in the third set.
Nate Mekker managed 11 assists to go with four kills, Justin Diep adding 12 digs. Ryan Levy paced the front line with eight kills, twice as many as Mekker and Nico D’Elia, with Chase Johnson getting 10 assists. C-NS was led by Dylan Fournier’s 26 assists and Phillip Greer’s 10 kills.
