The Baldwinsville girls volleyball team made quick work of Section II champion Shenendehowa in Saturday’s Class AA regional at Union College in Schenectady.
The Bees (19-0) recorded nine aces and used their superior court sense to defeat the Plainsmen 25-9, 25-6 and 25-11 for their 11th regional title and a berth in this weekend’s state tournament in Glens Falls.
“I knew they were a very good team,” said Baldwinsville coach Mary Jo Cerqua. “I knew we had to serve very well against them because they were a very good offensive team. I’m proud of the way they served tonight.”
Brianna Stewart was one of three Bees with multiple aces, as the senior setter recorded three of them. Stewart also had a team-high 26 assists.
But it was Baldwinsville’s court sense that helped the most. There were numerous points in the regional match where the Bees allowed a Shen shot to go out of bounds, leaving the Plainsmen (16-5) frustrated.
“We just seemed to give them a lot of unearned points with our mistakes,” said Shen coach Lori Kessler. “We just never seemed to get our offense going.”
“They were definitely trying to hit the seams on us, and they were struggling to get the ball in [bounds],” said Cerqua.
Junior hitter Sydnie Hamm had 10 kills and five digs, and junior outside hitter Paulina Rein added eight kills and five digs for Baldwinsville.
The Bees return to Glens Falls for the fourth time in five years for the state tournament. They open pool play Saturday morning at the Glens Falls Civic Center, where they hope to get to Sunday’s Class AA finals.
“We’ll just take it one game at a time and see what happens,” said Cerqua.
