A tense, frustrating five-set defeat to Westhill on Aug. 29 added a sense of urgency to the Skaneateles girls volleyball team’s work as September got underway – something its subsequent opponents quickly found out.
In Tuesday’s home opener, Skaneateles met its fellow Lakers from Cazenovia, and with a particular need to win, Skaneateles pulled off a three-set sweep.
A dominant first set saw Skaneateles wipe out Cazenovia 25-9, and while each of the next two sets proved closer (and Cazenovia got some early leads), the host Lakers won them, too, by margins of 25-17 and 25-19.
Natalie Roche, with 14 kills and eight digs, again set the tone everywhere on the court, and her teammates followed.
Mallorie Olin had six kills, with Kelsey Farrell and Kelsie Kraetz getting four kills apiece. On the back line, Mia Campanile, with 10 assists, and Smith, with nine assists, ably split the duties as Casey VanSlyke recorded 12 digs to lead the defense.
Then the Lakers romped past Jordan-Elbridge 25-9, 25-13, 25-14 on Thursday night as Campanile started things with six aces to go with her eight assists. VanSlyke added three assists.
When the serves weren’t perfect, Roche came through with five kills, while Farrell and Kraetz had three kills apiece. Smith contributed three assists and two kills.
Skaneateles has a chance to build more momentum next week as it visits Bishop Ludden on Monday and host Institute of Technology Central next Thursday night.
