Determined to get to the top of the Onondaga High School League, the Cazenovia girls volleyball team roared to life just as the school year got underway.
In last Tuesday night’s season opener against Hannibal at Buckley Gym, the Lakers were solid and efficient, sweeping the Warriors in three sets by scores of 25-8, 25-16, 25-19.
The lopsided opening set helped create a tone that Cazenovia followed even as Hannibal improved during the match. And good serves helped, the Lakers earning 19 aces, five of them from Danielle Tedesco and four from Ashley Marti.
Up front, Paige Nardella and Taylor Eldred led the way with five kills apiece, with Willa Mihayli-Koch adding four kills and Molly Carges three kills. Jenna Britton set up those points, picking up 16 assists, an average of better than five assists per set.
Two nights later, at Jordan-Elbridge, the Lakers made it 2-0, handling the Eagles in another one-sided match by margins of 25-12 in each of the first two sets before taking the third set 25-9.
Not only did Britton gain 15 assists, she also had a team-best five aces. Up front, the work was split up, as Tedesco and Mihayli-Koch both gained five kills and Rebeckah Swart stepped up with four kills. Eldred added three kills and Marti finished with three aces.
Then Cazenovia went to Hamilton 24 hours later, taking on an Emerald Knights side that had just moved from a winter to fall schedule and was off to a 2-0 start.
It was, in theory, a big test for both sides, but the Lakers ended up dominating the match, sweeping the Emerald Knights 25-10, 25-8, 25-16 as, once more, Jenna Britton set the tone for the rest of the team, picking up 20 assists.
And the front line again showed tremendous balance. Eldred led with six kills, but Carges (five kills) was right behind, while Tedesco and Swart earned four kills apiece. Nardella and Stacy Richer each got three kills, with Morgan Mapstone and Jillian Britton joining Carges on three aces.
In its only league match this week, Cazenovia will visit Skaneateles, who is 2-2 with losses to Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse, but has won both of its early-season OHSL contests as Laurie Tanner took over as head coach for the retired Doreen Doctor.
