In order to get a shot at back-to-back state Class AA championships, the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team first had to make sure that another Section III title was tucked away.
That didn’t turn out to be much of a problem, though, as the Bees earned a three-set sweep of Cicero-North Syracuse in the AA final Wednesday night at the CNS gymnasium.
B’ville was trying to win both the girls and boys sectional championships. The boys Bees put up a spirited effort on its own, but lost in four sets to top seed Oswego.
Having dominated local large-school girls volleyball for a decade and a half, B’ville has appeared, in recent years, to pull further away from its sectional rivals. In both the 2010 and 2011 seasons, it has not even lost a set to any sectional opponent, in the regular-season or post-season.
Senior setter Shannon Albright said the key to this run is the way head coach Mary Jo Cerqua and her staff keep introducing game techniques to keep them from getting complacent.
“She’s always pushing us harder, and we push each other,” said Albright.
CNS, a no. 3 seed on its home court, was determined to at least puncture the Bees’ dominant aura, and it did, briefly, by scoring the first three points of the match and even leading 10-8 at one point in the first set.
Cerqua said her team had early jitters, but that the team’s self-confidence and experience in big contests helped them settle down. It used a 10-2 run to take control of that opening set and won it, 25-18.
CNS tried to hang in during the second set, too, but Liz Giromini served out the final seven points of the set and B’ville won it, 25-13. The third set proved even more lopsided as, with power and precision, the Bees closed it out, 25-8.
Sarah Klaben ended the match with an ace, one of five on the night as she added 14 digs and six kills. Albright, with 28 assists, set up a deep front line where Sydnie Hamm (seven kills), Paulina Rein (six kills), Allegra Lee Bell (five kills) and Emily Walser (four kills) all made solid contributions.
“We can use anyone at any time, and we can depend on everybody on the court,” said Cerqua.
B’ville returns to the CNS gym on Saturday afternoon to face Section II champion Shenendehowa in the Class AA regional final, the winner to advance to next weekend’s state final four at Glens Falls Civic Center.
The boys volleyball Bees were trying to avenge two regular-season defeats to Oswego, who had only lost one set to B’ville in those two contests.
A close first set saw the Buccaneers use a 5-1 run to break a 3-3 tie. From there, B’ville stayed within sight and were within a point of extending the set, but Oswego closed it out 25-23, aided by untimely mistakes from the Bees.
The second set proved similar, as the Buccaneers again broke out of an early deadlock, 5-5, with a 4-1 spurt, and eventually pulled away for a 25-18 win, leaving B’ville down 2-0.
However, the Bees would take charge in the third set, minimizing its mistakes and winning by a comfortable 25-16 margin. It also led 11-9 in the fourth set and were tied, 14-14, before the Bucs again moved out in front, hanging on to win the title by a 25-20 margin.
Ryan Shelton, in defeat, had 15 assists, five kills, two aces and two digs. Shawn Calnan had six kills, while Kevin Drain and Anthony DiMarco put up four kills apiece. Ryan Zbikowski had three kills and four blocks as libero Jordan Hughes had five digs and two aces.
