First in September, and then in October, the Cazenovia girls volleyball team took the measure of Westhill, and both would emerge with four-set victories on their respective home courts. When they met for the third time, though, it was with the Section III Class C championship on the line at Jamesville-DeWitt High School Thursday night – and propelled by a great start, the Lakers would conquer the Warriors in four sets. Here, in the course of three matches against a single opponent, was a clear indication of how a team could improve in the course of a season, once everyone had learned their roles and could perform at a higher level. The tentative uncertainty of that first Westhill match was long gone. Instead, there was an opening set where Cazenovia controlled matters with a series of strong plays at the net, plus good serves and defensive play, which led to a comfortable 25-15 victory. Even when the Warriors moved in front during the second set, the Lakers didn’t worry much, rallying to tie it, 16-16, and then take the lead again, never letting Westhill recover as Danielle Tedesco’s kill finished off a 25-20 decision, and Cazenovia moved within one set of a sectional title. To its credit, the Warriors didn’t make things easy. Playing with urgency in the third set, Westhill breezed to a 25-17 win, and were ready to catch up unless the Lakers responded. During the fourth set, Cazenovia’s response was emphatic – and worthy of a championship. After going in front, every time Westhill got close, the Lakers had an answer, and it continued until match point was secure, a 25-22 win was in the books and a sectional banner was earned. Jenna Britton led the way, gaining 28 assists and 20 digs to go with three aces. Willa Mihayli-Koch had 20 digs, with Ashley Marti and Paige Nardella managing 15 digs apiece. Rebeckah Swart added 11 digs, while Taylor Eldred had nine digs, Katie Davis seven digs and Jess Macheda five digs. On Cazenovia’s front line, Danielle Tedesco proved a major force, earning 12 kills and six digs. Mihayli-Koch, with 11 kills, was close behind, while Molly Carges provided nine kills and three blocks. Eldred finished with three aces and three kills. Westhill saw Delaney Martin (14 kills, 20 digs) and Melissa Newcomb (11 kills, 11 digs) lead the front line as Mackenzie Martin fed them with 27 assists and 11 digs. Claire Diefendorf and Xiomara Rodriguez each earned 13 digs as Jordan Tucker contributed 12 digs. For the Lakers, fresh off winning the Onondaga High School League tournament on Oct. 25 at Buckley Gym, the path to that championship match wasn’t a stressful one, even if it took four sets to eliminate those other Warriors from Hannibal in last Tuesday’s Class C semifinal. That’s because, in the first two sets, Cazenovia, getting tremendous efforts from its servers, won each of those sets by massive 25-2 margins. Even when the reserves were in during the third set, the Lakers nearly finished the sweep, but Hannnibal took that set, 28-26, so the main players returned in the fourth set and Cazenovia quickly closed it out in a lopsided 25-8 manner. Carges led the front line, earning nine kills, with Tedesco adding eight kills, two aces and two blocks. Nardella contributed four kills as Jillian Britton, Morgan Mapstone and Stacy Richer had two kills apiece. Britton served up eight aces, to go with her 25 assists. Mihayli-Koch finished with five aces, plus six kills, while Eldred had five aces and three kills. Swart got three aces and three kills. The sectional final win sends Cazenovia into the state tournament, where it would return to J-D Wednesday to face the Section V champions. A win there would send the Lakers to the regional final Saturday at Section VI (Buffalo area), and two wins are needed to reach the Nov. 15-16 state final four at Glens Falls Civic Center.