To its relief, the Cazenovia girls volleyball team did not have to follow a magical six-day stretch from Oct. 17 to 22 with a lot of work in the week that followed.
That great stretch had included (1) a five-set win over Jamesville-DeWitt where the final set went 33-31 in the Lakers’ favor, (2) a five-set home win over unbeaten, defending Section III Class B champion Westhill and (3) a victory in the Onondaga High School League tournament at Buckley Gym, where it toppled LaFayette in the finals.
Compared to all that, the Lakers’ visit to Mexico proved rather mundane, but Cazenovia gladly accepted the easier assignment, going out and sweeping the Tigers by scores of 25-8, 25-9 and 25-17.
More than a set’s worth of points – 26 in all – came from aces recorded by 10 different players, with Sarah Dickinson and Mairin Rogers leading that charge, earning five aces apiece.
Lauren Burbidge had four aces, with Danielle Tedesco and Ava Brenna getting three kills apiece. Maleigha Ellithorpe and Lindsey Lawson each finished with two aces, and single aces going to Lauren Lyons, Molly Carges and Joanna Seeley.
As to other duties, Tedesco produced eight kills, with Lawson earning five kills. Carges got four kills and Morgan Hodinger three kills as Joanna Seeley and Madison West both had two kills. Ellithorpe picked up 19 assists as Delaney Yorks, with seven assists, helped out.
Back home a night later, Cazenovia met Phoenix, the last regular-season home match for its six seniors – Carges, Dickinson, Ellithorpe, Lyons, Rogers and Tedesco.
Not wanting any part of a defeat on this occasion, the Lakers went out and swept the Firebirds 25-8, 25-6, 25-21, getting depth from its back line as Ellithorpe earned 12 assists, Lyons had 11 assists and Delany Yorks picked up seven assists.
Their passes went to a front line where Carges gained 11 kills to go with two aces and Tedesco put together seven kills, four aces and two blocks. Seeley stepped up with six kills, two aces and two digs as Lawson added three kills. Madison West and Ryleigh Tillison both got two kills.
Cazenovia finished the regular season at 14-2, with the Section III Class B playoffs straight ahead. Because of that win over Westhill, the Lakers rose to the top seed in the eight-team Class B bracket, with the Warriors settling for a no. 2 seed.
In the quarterfinals Saturday at Buckley Gym, Cazenovia faced no. 8 seed Jordan-Elbridge. In an efficient manner, the Lakers dispatched the Eagles, taking the first set 25-9 and the second set 25-15 before roaring through the third set 25-5.
Just like it did against Mexico, the Lakers picked up 26 aces, seven of them from Ellithorpe to go with six assists as Lyons got four aces and 14 assists. Tedesco and Carges both earned seven kills as Carges matched Lyons’ total of four aces. Sarah Dickinson earned three aces. Tedesco, Burbidge and Seeley had two aces apiece.
So on Wednesday night, Cazenovia confronts no. 5 seed Solvay, who took out Skaneateles in five sets, in the sectional semifinals. The winner faces no. 2 seed Westhill or no. 6 seed Marcellus (who toppled no. 3 seed Homer in five sets) on Saturday in the sectional final at Fayetteville-Manlius.
