A two-day wait for the Baldwinsville boys volleyball team to square off with Liverpool proved worthwhile for the Bees, if a bit nerve-wracking.
Dominating at the start, B’ville was poised to end the match numerous times, only to see the Warriors fight back and extend it to five sets before the Bees were able to escape in Thursday night’s neighborhood clash.
None of it looked troubling in the first two sets, where B’ville won by lopsided margins of 25-10 and 25-11. And in the third set, the Bees were poised to end it.
Liverpool would not dissipate, though. The Warriors won that third set 26-24, and when the Bees again got close to ending it in the fourth set, Liverpool pulled it out again, 27-25.
Finally, B’ville prevailed, claiming the fifth set by a comfortable 25-18 margin, led on the back line by Chris Drain, who had 36 assists and five aces, and William Hamm, who had 15 assists and four blocks.
Up front, Shawn Calnan and Grady Schmidt each produced 15 kills, with Calnan adding six digs and Schmidt four blocks. Kevin Drain and Anthony DeMarco each had eight kills, while Nick Racha had seven kills and Tyler Weber added 10 digs.
Liverpool’s brave effort included Dalton Horton picking 22 assists, Anthony Calabrese (18 digs) and Brendan Corp (16 kills) dominating on the front line and Joe Kenney getting 10 kills.
The B’ville girls team, after the postponement of last Tuesday’s match at Central Square, returned home Friday to play Auburn and cruised to a 25-9, 25-11, 25-9 victory over the Maroons.
Maddy Price put away eight aces to go with her four kills. On a well-balanced front line, Lexi Lagoy led with five kills. Madison Whitney backed up her four kills with five aces as Amanda May added four kills. Karley Gutchess and Sarah Herman put up three kills apiece as Maureen Thayer picked up 19 assists, plus five aces.
B’ville’s girls host its Fall Swing Tournament Saturday after Thursday’s match against Cicero-North Syracuse, while the boys meet Jamesville-DeWitt, Horseheads and Syracuse over the course of the week.
