In the last full week of the regular season, the Marcellus and Westhill girls volleyball teams each had an opportunity to break up Cazenovia’s quest to stay undefeated.
And though it was the less likely of the two to pull it off, the Mustangs did so, stunning the Lakers last Tuesday night in a five-set classic where Marcellus made two different comebacks.
With a 9-5 record, the Mustangs weren’t expected to derail 14-0 Cazenovia, and lost the opening set 25-20. On the brink of falling two sets down, though, Marcellus pulled out the second 26-24, and didn’t get rattled when the Lakers rolled through the third set 25-15.
Instead, the Mustangs played its best volleyball in the latter stages, comfortably taking the fourth set 25-18 and continuing to get all of the important points in a decisive 25-19 fifth set.
Olivia Quick did it all, from 27 assists to six kills, four aces, three blocks and five digs. Julia Piorkowski led the defense, earning 18 digs to go with six kills, four aces and three assists.
Helping them, Grace Hoey had a team-best nine kills and four blocks, adding five digs, two aces and two assists. Sydney French put together 11 digs, six aces and seven kills, while Meghan O’Brien managed eight kills and four blocks.
Then, when Westhill took its turn against Cazenovia Thursday night at Buckley Gym, it proved even more lopsided as the Warriors swept the Lakers 25-15, 25-19, 25-20.
Mackenzie Martin was in prime form, amassing 23 assists, seven kills and nine digs. Montanna Gedney had 12 kills, 10 assists and seven digs as Sara Galante added seven kills, three aces and 10 digs. Brigid Heinrich got eight kills as Leah Diefendorf picked up seven digs, Emma Bryant got three kills and Sophia Sgroi had three aces.
Before it went to Cazenovia, Westhill first had to face West Genesee, a match last Monday where the Warriors controlled matters from the outset and went on to sweep the Wildcats 25-20, 25-11, 25-17.
Sara Galante’s five aces set the tone as she added six kills and 11 digs, with Martin getting 18 assists, four kills, four digs and three aces. Gedney notched nine kills, six blocks and four assists.
Brigid Heinrich managed four kills and Emma Bryant had three kills, with Sophia Sgroi adding five digs. WG got 10 assists and eight digs from Anna Snyder as Carolyn King managed six kills, with Audrey Dennis and Arlea Vecchio earning seven digs apiece.
WG had two more matches during the week, sweeping Corcoran 25-19, 25-12, 25-9 as Snyder amassed 11 aces to go with 19 assists. Madelyn Tibbetts had four aces as King got 12 kills and Dennis contributed seven digs.
Now, trying to upset 13-2 Liverpool Thursday night, WG recovered from a 25-22 loss in the first set to win the second set 25-21. Close sets followed, but the Warriors claimed both of them 25-21 and 25-22.
King, with 19 kills, got help from Dennis, who had 12 kills and 17 digs. Sgroi had 13 digs, with Vecchio and Greta Jasinski each getting 11 digs.
Snyder amassed 34 assists, adding four aces and 12 digs as Julia Quirk had eight digs and seven blocks. Sarah Rigge contributed eight digs and four kills. Sam Sprague had five kills and Madison Stanton contributed nine digs.
Solvay won a tough match against Homer last Tuesday night, beating the Trojans 25-23, 25-21, 26-24.
Allie Posnick had 17 assists and 12 digs, with Brielle Bagozzi adding 11 digs and four kills. Gabby Rivera contributed nine digs as Bella Petralito and Ashley Bosco each got five kills. Anna Rolince had four kills and three aces.
At Phoenix on Thursday, the Bearcats improved to 10-6 overall, sweeping the Firebirds 25-20, 25-18, 25-12. Bagozzi, with 10 kills, led a balanced front line where Bella Petralito had nine kills and Phoebe Guadagnolo had six kills. Bagozzi added six aces and 10 digs as Posnick had 28 assists and 10 digs.
Back on Tuesday, Bishop Ludden defeated Jordan-Elbridge in four sets, with the Gaelic Knights taking the opener 25-17 and dropping a close second set 25-23 before taking the third 25-16 and then, in the fourth set, withstanding another comeback attempt to close out the Eagles 28-26.
Aurora Deshaies managed 19 kills, with Mary Patrick adding six kills. Sarah Morrell had 21 assists and Maylasia Wright got nine assists as Ashlee Eaton paced J-E with four kills, with Evelyn Woodin getting 11 digs, Molly Derby eight digs and Emily Jennings seven digs.
Ludden went from there to a 25-13, 25-17, 25-17 loss to Bishop Grimes on Thursday night. Morrell still had 11 assists as Meghan Wilkinson earned nine digs and Deshaies finished with nine kills.
