The path for the Skaneateles girls volleyball team to its first Section III championship since 1998 opened up a bit during the first week of the Class B playoffs.
As the no. 2 seed, the Lakers had a first-round bye, then watched as no. 6 seed Adirondack and no. 3 seed Lowville both get knocked off by Solvay, the no. 11 seed in the tournament.
Meeting a much different fate, Skaneateles entered the post-season fray Friday night and against no. 10 seed Mount Markham, won in a three-game sweep.
Though the Mustangs had upset no. 7 seed CBA in the first round, Skaneateles provided a higher level of competition, and the opening game proved decisive.
Pushed to the wire, the Lakers pulled out that game 25-23, then roared through the next two games by margins of 25-10 and 25-14 to knock Mount Markham out.
Chloe Warner picked up 20 assists and served up eight aces. Up front, Ryan Merle had seven kills and three blocks, while Emily Wood and Alexa Campanile each had six kills. Katherine Hill had four kills as Destin VanTyle gained two kills, two aces and two assists.
Skaneateles would try to stop Solvay’s surprising run in Wednesday’s Class B semifinal at Chittenango. The winner would advance to face Canastota or Cazenovia in Saturday’s final at Jamesville-DeWitt.