Simply put, the Chittenango girls volleyball team is not accustomed to regular-season defeats.
The Bears’ sheer dominance in recent Section III winter season championship runs included long stretches where it would not so much as give up a set to an opponent.
All of that changed last Tuesday night against Cortland, where Chittenango seemed on the way to another big win, only to get shocked by the Purple Tigers in five sets.
Each of the first two sets was close and hard-fought, yet each time the Bears got the key points late, winning those sets 25-23 and 25-22.
Somehow, Cortland absorbed this and claimed the third set 25-21. Then it pulled away 25-15 in the fourth, setting up a tense final set where, on this occasion, the Purple Tigers got the points that mattered.
Winning that final set in another 25-21 decision, Cortland had Kayci Olson earn 27 kills and 25 digs, while Lexi Zacek and Marissa Parzynski each had 10 kills and combined for 32 digs. Grace Call amassed 48 assists and 13 digs as Tori Cruz got 25 digs.
On Chittenango’s side, Bayla Cutrie had 12 kills, eight assists and 10 digs, with Sarah Martin getting 10 kills and 17 digs.
Savannah Penoyer (22 digs) and Tori Foran (21 digs) led the Bears’ defense as Carolyn Myka had 17 assists and 10 digs, with Jada Masciat adding four kills, three blocks and nine digs.
The irony was that Chittenango’s next match was at Tully on Thursday, against a Black Knights foe long accustomed to success, but who had just taken its own defeat earlier in the week, a three-set sweep by Onondaga.
Showing its resilience, the Bears would top Tully in four sets, dropping a close opener 25-23, but then taking the second set 25-21. The third and fourth sets both ended 25-23 in Chittenango’s favor.
Able to claim most of the important points in those last three sets, the Bears had Cutrie earn 20 assists and Myka get 19 assists, passing it to a variety of front-line players, Cutrie adding 10 digs and six kills, too.
Penoyer put up 11 kills, plus 13 digs. Masciat had eight kills, with Martin getting seven kills and 11 digs. Chelsea Lamphere gained five kills as Gabby Cutrie earned 10 digs.
Chittenango plays just once this week, hosting Faith Heritage on Tuesday as a Thursday match with Onondaga was pushed back to Jan. 11, just as a match with Pulaski set for last week got moved to Jan. 28.
