Two of the area’s top girls volleyball programs, each of them holders of Section III titles, met up last Wednesday night, and Westhill got the best of it, taking just three sets to defeat the Cazenovia Lakers.
Throughout the match, the Warriors served well, while Cazenovia constantly gave away points with bad serves. In the opening set, that translated into Westhill leading the entire way and claiming a 25-16 decision.
Midway through the second set, it was tied, 14-14, but Westhill used a timely 6-0 run to go in front for good and make the difference in a 25-19 decision.
During the third set, Cazenovia fell behind by as much as six points, and were still down 23-17 before a frantic 6-1 run nearly extended the set and the match. But one more bad serve allowed the Warriors to close it out, 25-23.
Montana Gedney mixed in 17 kills and four digs, getting passes from Mackenzie Martin, who had 21 assists, plus five aces, five digs and two kills. Bridget Lougen added seven kills and two aces, with Sophia Sgroi (eight digs), Leah Diefendorf (seven digs) and Isabella Radio Rodriguez (six digs) making major defensive contributions.
In advance of the Cazenovia showdown, Westhill got jolted early in its Sept. 2 match at Jamesville-DeWitt, dropping the first set 25-13, but then won the second set 25-15 and, fittingly enough, rolled through the third and fourth sets with 25-13 wins of its own to close it out.
Martin mixed in 20 assists, six digs, two aces, two kills and two blocks. Gedney finished with 13 kills, 10 digs and four aces, while Lougen had nine kills and four blocks. Diefendorf added 10 digs and Radio-Rodriguez mixed in four aces, four kills and five digs.
West Genesee did not return to action until Friday night – but when it did, it easily moved to 2-0 with a sweep of Henninger. The 25-5, 25-12, 25-8 decision included 30 aces from the Wildcats, 12 by Audrey Dennis and eight by Rachel Hillery to go with four kills. Sasha Mekker had 24 assists and Jaylin Mallore earned a team-best six kills.
Marcellus, in a match that could prove a legitimate turning point even though it’s so early in the season, rallied from a 2-0 deficit in sets to beat Homer last Tuesday night.
The Trojans won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-20, and were two points from a sweep when the Mustangs turned it around, claiming the third set 25-23 and rolling through the fourth set 25-12. Now with all of the momentum, Marcellus withstood Homer’s charge and, by a 25-21 margin, won the final set to complete its comeback.
Sydney French had nine aces, to go with five assists and four digs. Olivia Quick added 10 assists and five digs as Rachel Randall got 13 digs. Allison Field earned five kills, four aces and four digs and Margaret Kianka got four kills. Lauren Young earned four aces and three blocks. Julia Piorkowski contributed five digs.
On Thursday, against an Altmar-Parish-Williamstown side that had lost its own five-set match to Bishop Grimes two days earlier, the Mustangs didn’t require any sort of rally, sweeping the Rebels 25-18, 25-20, 25-10. Kianka led with five kills and seven digs as Randall and Field both earned eight digs. Quick got seven assists and French had six assists.
Solvay took its first loss of the season to Auburn last Wednesday night, perhaps unable to recover from a narrow 26-24 defeat in the first set. The Maroons won the second set, too, 25-18, and though the Bearcats claimed the third set 25-18, its comeback to force a final set fell just short.
Auburn closed it out, 26-24, in that fourth set, overcoming the 18 assists of Allie Posnick and 16 assists of Mackenzie McCarthy. Bella Petralito had 11 kills, ahead of Gabby Rivera (eight kills), Ashley Bosco (seven kills) and Anna Rolince (five kills), with Brielle Bagozzi and Phebe Guadagnolo each earning four kills and Taylor Preble six assists.
The Bearcats’ struggles continued in Friday’s 25-15, 25-20, 25-20 defeat to Central Square, despite McCarthy’s nine assists. Bagozzi and Petralito had four kills apiece, while Bagozzi added 13 digs and Preble eight digs. The Redhawks got seven kills from Maggie Prusinowski and 14 assists from Maddie Besaw.
Bishop Ludden opened its season with a 25-14, 25-14, 25-15 defeat at Homer on Sept. 2. Meghan Wilkinson had eight digs, while Nicole Noreault had Bridget Brogan each got four digs. Natalie Fagan and Kari Plumridge each had two assists as Sarah Smith got three digs.
Turning it around, the Gaelic Knights swept Hamilton 25-12, 25-13, 25-18 last Tuesday as Deshaies, with six aces and four digs, set the tone. Brogan got five aces as Fagan finished with three assists, two aces and three digs. Wilkinson got four digs and Emma Catalano produced three kills.
At Auburn Friday night, Ludden won the opening set 25-14, only to see the Maroons prevail in the next three sets by margins of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-11. Fagan still had five assists, while Plumridge had four assists. Wilkinson piled up 25 digs and Brogan managed 19 digs.
