Perhaps there was a sweeter outcome for the Solvay girls volleyball team than to beat Marcellus for a Section III championship – but it’s difficult to imagine. These long-time court rivals got together again Thursday night at Jamesville-DeWitt High School to contest the sectional Class B final, and when all was settled, the Bearcats were victorious in four sets over the Mustangs. Steeled by the close competition atop the OHSL Liberty division, Solvay was not going to get phased by anything Marcellus threw at them – even a closely-fought opening set where the Mustangs, getting key points in the latter stages, prevailed by a thin 25-23 margin. In fact, all that did was make the Bearcats more focused and determined to finish on top, which it started to do by taking the second set 25-19 and, in the third set, doing much the same thing on the way to a 25-20 victory. Needing one more set, Solvay put everything together – serves, spikes, blocks and defense – during the fourth set, and pulled away to take it 25-17 and finish the night as sectional champions. Jackie Gardner, adding a volleyball title to go with her softball accolades, picked up 17 assists, adding nine kills, four aces and nine digs. Lauren Bandera was versatile, too, getting nine assists, seven kills and four aces. Leading the Bearcats’ front line, Jackie Allen put away 14 kills, adding four blocks, while Monica Watkins had three kills. The defensive standouts were Kseniya Myalik, with 33 digs to go with four kills and four aces, and Michaela Marotti, who had 23 digs. Rebecca Langdon added two aces. Marcellus, in defeat, got 15 assists from Kayla Bryant. Laura Finn mixed in seven assists and six kills, with Eimile O’Brien earning a team-best eight kills. Zoe Higgins matched Finn’s six kills, with Kendyll French contributing five kills and Kristin Field four assists. Solvay had to negotiate through last Tuesday’s Class B semifinal against Homer, but made it through, defeating the Trojans in four sets. Confident because it had beaten Homer in a five-set match back on Oct. 7, the Bearcats rolled through the opening set 25-13. Even when the Trojans rallied to take the second set 25-20, Solvay kept its poise, pulling out a close third set 25-22 and then, in the fourth set, closing out the match in a 25-21 decision. Allen, Bandera and Gardner each produced 12 kills and did plenty on the defensive side, too, with Gardner managing 30 digs and 19 assists, Bandera earning 22 digs and 14 assists and Allen contributing 26 digs. Watkins gave Solvay even more depth on its front line, finishing with nine kills and seven blocks. Mackenzie McCarthy stepped up, too, earning 38 digs. Homer saw Julia Brazo earn 27 assists and 15 digs and Molly Ulrich add 29 digs in front of Emily Cottrell, who had 10 kills and 14 digs, and Cary Trierwieller, who had nine kills and 13 digs. Marcellus, meanwhile, rallied past Phoenix in the other semifinal. Dropping the first set in a narrow 25-23 decision, the Mustangs got even, 25-20, in the second set, and then won a pivotal third set 25-23 over the Firebirds before closing it out, 25-18, in the fourth set. Finn and Higgins each finished with nine kills and three aces, with Finn also earning seven assists. Bryant augmented her 22 assists with seven kills, the same total of kills as O’Brien, while French picked up five kills. Brittney Valentine added four digs. Solvay’s win over Marcellus means entry into the state Class B tournament and a return to J-D next Wednesday night to meet the Section V champions at 7 p.m. The Bearcats need a win there, plus a win in Saturday’s regional final at Section VI (Buffalo area), in order to reach the Nov. 15-16 state championships at Glens Falls Civic Center.