In the last full week of the regular season, the area’s girls volleyball teams sought one more wave of success.
And Christian Brothers Academy got, by far, it biggest win of the season last Monday night when it took out undefeated Homer in three sets 25-21, 26-24, 25-21. It was, in fact, Homer’s first defeat after amassing 33 consecutive match wins.
Kelly Bewley, with 13 assists, led a deep and powerful front line. Claire Gollegly backed up her seven kills with 10 assists, while Marisa Hamel also had seven kills and Sophie Racciatti added six kills. Kara Dell’uomo had six kills, five aces and four digs.
East Syracuse-Minoa swept past Cato-Meridian 27-25, 25-11, 25-15, dominating the match after an uneven first set. Olivia Chopskie mixed in eight aces and six kills as Rachel Aird put away 13 kills and Safira Lubenovic had 11 kills. Kaitlyn Shaughnessy managed 30 assists and four aces.
A night later, the Spartans survived yet another five-set match, beating Cortland. Close wins in the first set (25-23) and third set (27-25) offset the Purple Tigers winning the second set 25-22 and the fourth set 25-21.
In the final set, ESM pulled it out, 25-21. Danielle Steigerwald returned to the lineup and posted 15 kills, while Aird and Chopskie each had 10 kills and Lubenovic managed six kills and eight digs. Brianna Dunn took over on the back line for Shaughnessy and managed 32 assists.
Then it was Jamesville-DeWitt’s turn for a five-set match on Wednesday, holding off Chittenango. After winning the first two sets 25-18 and 25-14, the Red Rams, two points from a sweep, lost the third set 26-24, and also dropped the fourth set 25-18 before bouncing back to edge the Bears 25-21 in the final set.
Sonia Narsipur picked up 22 assists and five digs, aided by Madi Alfieris, who had 13 assists. Up front, Jenna Hayward had 11 kills, backed by seven aces, four blocks and eight digs, with Laura Wildridge adding eight kills, four aces and four digs. Lexi Lerman contributed 15 digs and Meghan Byrnes managed nine digs.
Bishop Grimes won in four sets over Weedsport. Shaking off a poor second set, the Cobras handled the Warriors 25-22, 10-25, 25-14, 25-18. Mackenzie Thompson had seven aces and six kills, with Abby Rogers adding 12 assists, five digs and three aces.
Moving to boys volleyball, J-D gained a huge victory Thursday night when it went to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and knocked off the powerful Red Devils in four sets.
Setting a good tone, the Red Rams won the first set 25-18. VVS dominated the second set 25-14, but J-D took over from there, pulling out a 25-20 third set and blazing to a 25-11 win in the fourth set to clinch it.
Jesse Evensky, with 10 kills and 14 digs, and Tom Lukow, with seven kills and 12 digs, set the pace. Walker Masiclat had 23 assists and Mike Alfieris managed 18 assists, plus five digs and four aces. Terrance Smith had nine kills and three blocks. Brad Siegel contributed eight digs.
