A wild, dramatic Thursday evening of Section III girls volleyball playoff action saw four local teams compete – and only one survive into the semifinal round.
That would be Jamesville-DeWitt, the no. 4 seed in Class A, who held off no. 5 seed East Syracuse-Minoa in four sets, moving within a victory of playing for the sectional title on its home court.
Elsewhere, Class B no. 5 seed Christian Brothers Academy and Class C-2 no. 6 seed Bishop Grimes were eliminated in five-set classics – the Brothers by Adirondack, the Cobras by Fabius-Pompey.
J-D and ESM had met twice in the regular season, splitting those matches. The third encounter saw the Rams take the opening set 25-19, only to have the Spartans dominate the second set and win in a 25-10 romp. From there, though, J-D took charge, winning both the third and fourth sets by equal 25-16 margins.
Madi Alfieris, with 21 assists, and Sonia Narsipur, with 12 assists, set up points for a front line where Jenna Hayward had 15 kills, Kristina Gitzen added nine kills. Lexi Lerman and Carly Neugebauer each got seven kills. Laura Wildridge added five kills as Lerman contributed 10 digs on the defensive side.
ESM, in defeat, featured Safira Lubenovic getting seven kills and Rachel Aird putting away seven kills, the passes coming from Kaitlyn Shaughnessy, who earned 15 assists.
With the win, J-D advanced to Tuesday’s Class A semifinal against no. 1 seed Whitesboro. A victory there, and the Rams get to return home for Saturday night’s Class A final against Oneida or Mexico.
CBA, meanwhile, made the long trip to Boonville and was in immediate trouble against no. 4 seed Adirondack, losing the first two sets 25-18 and 25-23.
The Brothers caught up when it won the third set 25-16 and pulled out the fourth set 25-23, but the Wildcats regrouped and won the final set 25-21.
Through it all, Sophie Racciatti had 12 kills, six blocks and eight digs. Kelly Bewley and Claire Gollegly each finished with 16 assists and a combined 13 digs, while Kara Dell’uomo had seven kills. Marisa Hamel had five kills and 12 digs as Becky Scullin matched Bewley’s total of four kills.
For Adirondack, Liz Riegler (16 kills) and Katarina Candee (15 kills, 16 digs) led on the front line, with Nicole Latvis earning 18 assists and Kaylee Gydesen adding 12 assists.
At Fabius-Pompey, Bishop Grimes had Class C-2 no. 3 seed Fabius-Pompey in trouble after winning the first set 25-17 and the second set 25-22. However, the Falcons claimed the fourth sets by equal 25-20 margins and, with all the momentum, won the final set 25-19.
Abby Rogers had 12 assists, six digs and five aces. Taylor Bourdon added six aces, 15 digs and four kills, while Mackenzie Thompson managed seven kills, helped by Kaylyn Hewitt (five kills) and Ashley Morgan (four kills) on the front line. F-P’s Bella Carroll managed 21 kills and 12 digs, while Macey Morse got 24 assists and eight kills.
