Onondaga — Maybe the Westhill girls volleyball team isn’t the strongest side at the start of sets – but if so, it sure makes up for it.
Homer found this out in Wednesday’s Section III Class B final at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, as the top-seeded Warriors dragged out of the gate, but closed strong and swept the Trojans to earn its second sectional championship in three years.
Two months had passed since these sides had their lone regular-season meeting on Sept. 8. In a hot, humid Westhill gym, the Warriors won by scores of 25-8, 25-18 and 25-16.
Now, in a larger, cooler college gym, a tougher match was expected, and Homer obliged, at least in the early stages of sets.
During the opening set, Westhill tried to break out of a 6-6 tie with six consecutive points, only to have Homer pull back within one, 12-11, with its own 5-0 run.
It was still a two-point margin, 15-13, when the Warriors got some great serves from Melissa Newcomb to put up five straight points, something from which the Trojans could not recover, Westhill prevailing 25-16.
What happened in the second set proved more emphatic. Homer got the first three points, but the Warriors, after pulling back even, 6-6, decided matters when it got Delaney Martin on the serve and didn’t let up until it had buried the Trojans with 12 consecutive points, leading to a 25-11 decision.
The trend continued in the third set, Homer again starting well, this time with an 8-5 lead, and Westhill again turning it around, catching up at 13-13 and taking the lead for good from there. Closing with a 12-3 run, the Warriors closed out the match 25-16.
Newcomb put together 13 kills, four aces and four digs. Bridget Lougen had nine kills and two aces, while Delaney Martin earned eight kills and added 11 digs. Montana Gedney contributed nine kills and four digs as Mackenzie Martin amassed 32 assists, adding six digs, two aces and two kills.Olivia Sauro had four digs.
