At last, the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill boys volleyball team rules the Section III Class B ranks.
Having faced disappointment each of the last two seasons when it met Living Word Academy for the sectional title, the Red Devils finally conquered the Lions Saturday night in a four-game classic at Oneida High School to capture the top prize.
By far, the biggest key to the VVS win was the way it survived a classic third game where both sides had all kinds of chances to prevail. To that point, it was tied 1-1, Living Word having rolled through the first game 25-18 before the Red Devils controlled the second game 25-15.
All told, the third game had 18 ties and nine lead changes. Three different times – at 24-23, 25-24 and 28-27 – Living Word had a game point, only to have VVS save it on kills by Jake Voelker, Steve Geer and Jordan Loboda.
With it tied at 30-30, the Red Devils gained back the serve. Having squandered multiple game points of its own, VVS got the breakthrough when Casey Henderson blocked Deng Gai’s kill attempt to the floor for a 32-30 win.
Living Word initially regrouped in the fourth game, moving ahead 14-10. But with Gai on the back line, VVS took full advantage, going on 10-1 run to pull ahead for good. Kills by Geer and Loboda closed out the match – and the sectional title – in a 25-19 decision.
Voelker, with 11 digs, and Geer, with nine digs to go with six kills, joined Henderson (10 blocks) and Kyle Renwick (20 digs) as, together, they produced first-rate defense throughout the match. Loboda finished with 10 kills and eight blocks, while Alex Rose got four kills. And Cole Barbano fed all of them with 30 assists, to go with five blocks and three kills.
Back in the Class B semifinals on Wednesday, VVS jumped all over Chittenango on its way to a four-game victory over the Bears.
Chittenango, off for more than a week, got flattened in the first two games as the Red Devils won by 25-5 and 25-14 margins. Finally finding its rhythm in third game, the Bears led all the way in a 25-20 decision, only to see VVS fend off all kinds of possible rallies in the fourth game to close out the match 25-19.
On a well-balanced front line, Loboda led with 12 kills, just ahead of Voelker, who had 10 kills and nine digs. Geer managed nine kills and five digs, with Henderson getting eight kills as Barbano dished out 30 assists and Renwick compiled 16 digs.
Chittenango, in defeat, saw Tanner Markowski put together 13 assists and nine kills, with Caleb Mannix adding 11 assists, five digs and eight kills. Ryan Smith had nine kills and Corey Rivet produced 15 digs.
Then on Thursday, Oneida took its turn in the Class B semifinals, but lost to Living Word in four games. The first game saw the Lions win big, 25-13, and it followed up by building a nine-point lead in the second game on its way to a 25-20 win. Oneida then zoomed ahead 16-7 in the third game before hanging on to win 25-23, but Living Word emerged from a tight fourth game 25-21.
Gai closed the match out with three straight kills and led the Lions with 33 kills overall. No one on the Indians could match that output, though Shawn Ano was impressive with 21 kills and Sam Adams contributed 10 kills. Travis Morrison and Eric Merrell each finished with 15 assists as Cody Staple added 10 digs.
VVS and Oneida had stayed busy right up until playoff time, including a Feb. 26 appearance at the Little Falls Tournament. The Red Devils beat the Indians 25-11 in round-robin play, but Oneida recovered to sweep host Little Falls to reach the semifinals before falling to Mount Markham.
Then VVS needed three games to beat Sauquoit Valley (22-25, 25-22, 25-17) in the semifinals before taking its shot at Mount Markham – but the Mustangs prevailed 25-19, 25-19.
Despite the loss, Barbano, with 51 assists, and Henderson, with 17 kills and 18 blocks, made the All-Tournament team. Voelker had 18 kills and 29 digs as Kyle Renwick added 24 digs. Jordan Loboda managed 18 kills, 10 blocks and six assists, with Steve Geer (12 kills) and Alex Rose (10 kills) also making front-line contributions.
Canastota, in the Class C quarterfinal, fell to Little Falls in four games 25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20. The Raiders squandered a 12-6 lead in the opening game and a 21-18 advantage in the second game, allowing the Mounties to take control. Charlie Smith had 21 assists as Jason Quaglia and Jacob Meade each had seven kills and Elijah Cary added six kills.
