So the Cicero-North Syracuse boys volleyball team gets to play at home for the Section III Class AA championship – against an opponent it might not have expected.
The top-seeded Northstars took care of last Wednesday’s Class AA semifinal against no. 4 seed Oswego, beating the Buccaneers in three straight games.
As this was going on, Baldwinsville, the defending champs and favored to get a shot at avenging two regular-season losses to CNS, got beat at home by Central Square, who rallied from two different deficits to eliminate the Bees in five.
Thus, it’s the Northstars against the Red Hawks Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CNS not only has home-court advantage, it can draw from two previous wins over Central Square – a three-game sweep on Sept. 14, then a four-game win on Oct. 5.
CNS first had to get that third win over Oswego, which proved challenging enough. Each of the first two games was close – but both times, the Northstars beat the Buccaneers 25-21, setting up a third game where the hosts won big 25-15.
Jim Coleman picked up 31 assists, four aces and three kills. Ethan Irish had 12 kills and three aces, while Tyler A. Smith had eight kills, while Colin Crooks gained six kills and Billy Werksman had five kills. Jeff Holmes (two kills), Alex Brodhead and Tyler D. Smith (two kills each) also made contributions.