Ever since the Section III girls volleyball winter championship matches moved to Jamesville-DeWitt a few years ago, the regular residents have dreamed of getting a chance to play a sectional final on their home court.
It hasn’t happened yet, though.
J-D, as a no. 4 seed, did make it to the sectional Class A semifinals this time around, only to run into top seed Whitesboro and fall in three sets to the Warriors Wednesday night at Chittenango High School.
Other than a 2-0 start and a brief 3-2 edge, the Rams never led in the opening set. Whitesboro used strong serves to take control during a 10-2 run that put them ahead 15-6, and J-D never got closer than four points again in a 25-19 decision.
They were tied, 9-9, in the second set when Rebekah Geller’s fast serves led to six straight Whitesboro points. The Rams never recovered and lost that set 25-17.
Much the same thing happened in the third set, the Warriors breaking out of a 4-4 deadlock with a 5-1 surge. The margin got as big as 10 points, 23-14, when J-D, to its credit, fought off six match points before Whitesboro closed it out, 25-20.
With that, J-D’s season finished with an 11-7 mark, but it graduates just three seniors – Sonia Narsipur, Lexi Lerman and Taylor Bierwagen. Many key players, including Madi Alfieris, Jenna Hayward, Carly Neugebauer, Laura Wildridge and Kristina Gitzen, should be back next season.
