A key early-season girls volleyball contest among top OHSL Liberty division contenders – and neighbors – went the way of Westhill, as it went to Solvay last Tuesday night and recorded a four-set victory over the Bearcats.
In a lopsided manner, the Warriors rolled through the first set 25-14, and it also pulled out the second set 25-21. Though the Bearcats avoided the sweep, taking the third set 25-23, Westhill responded with a dominant 25-12 fourth set to close it out.
Melissa Newcomb picked up 13 kills and Delaney Martin added 12 kills and 18 digs. Mackenzie Martin had a busy night, gaining 30 assists, 22 digs, four kills and four aces, with Newcomb and Theresa Hahn each adding eight digs.
Solvay’s effort included Jackie Gardner’s 15 assists, 16 digs, six kills and four aces. Lauren Bandera added 25 digs and 13 assists, with Jackie Allen managing 10 kills and 14 digs. Michaela Marotti (27 digs) and Kseniya Myalik (20 digs) both stood out on the defensive end.
Each side went on to sweep matches on Thursday, Westhill routing Hannibal 25-10, 25-6, 25-10 and Solvay defeating Living Word Academy 25-19, 25-10, 25-13.
Westhill picked up 19 aces, five of them from Xiomara Radio-Rodriguez, while Delaney Martin had 10 kills, Lydia Gosson had six kills and four aces and Mackenzie Martin picked up 15 assists.
As for Solvay, Allen led with nine kills, eight digs and four aces, with Mikayla Knight picking up six kills. Gardner (eight assists), Bandera and Mackenzie McCarthy (seven assists each) split back-line duties, with Kseniya Myalik earning 16 digs and Marotti 10 digs.
Just before that, West Genesee made its 2014 season debut in smashing style, nearly shutting out Nottingham in the first set and going on to sweeping the Bulldogs by scores of 25-2, 25-8 and 25-15.
Brianna Demauro set the tone, piling up 10 aces. Nine different players recorded at least one kill, with Grace Osterdale (six kills, three blocks) leading the way and Kayla Case and Rachel Hillery each getting three kills. Kara Sweeney earned 11 assists as Sierra Smith (seven digs) and Melissa Bakowski (six digs) led the defensive effort.
Two nights later, WG found itself against defending state Class AA champion Baldwinsville, and even with a new group of starters, the Bees still swept the Wildcats 25-7, 25-11, 25-22.
Only in the third set did the Wildcats get close, Sweeney held to nine assists and eight digs as Osterdale managed five kills and Bakowski added three kills, four blocks and six digs. Demauro contributed 10 digs.
Marcellus lost in four sets to Phoenix, beaten 25-19 in each of the first sets and taking the third set 25-12 before the Firebirds dominated the final set 25-7 to close out the match.
Mikayla Catherman, with 15 assists, and Kayla Bryant, with 14 assists, split the work on the back line, their passes going to Emilie O’Brien, who had 11 kills. Zoe Higgins added five kills and seven digs as Bryant also produced three aces and three kills. Kristin Field managed four assists, with Laura Finn adding three kills and three assists.
Rebounding on Thursday night, the Mustangs beat Mexico 25-9, 25-14, 25-13, recording 15 aces, including four from Finn, who added five assists, three blocks and two kills. O’Brien had seven kills, three blocks and three assists, while Field and Sydney Stell each had three aces.
Jordan-Elbridge took a five-set defeat to Hannibal, winning the first set 25-17 and, after dropping the second set 25-22, squeezing out a 26-24 win in a close third set. But the Warriors rolled through the fourth set 25-12 and, with both teams getting chances to prevail, Hannibal held on and won the match by a slim 26-24 margin.
In defeat, Nicole Martino had eight aces and Haley Schwarting contributed six aces, to go with four assists. Jessie Karagosian added six assists. Defensively, Lexis Switzer had 13 digs, while Keelee Hotchkiss had eight digs. Martino got seven digs, just ahead of Schwarting, Ashley Pangaro, Rachel Gleason and Emily Klock, with six digs apiece.
J-E did prevail, 25-15, 25-23, 26-24, over Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central Thursday night. Brittany Hares, with seven aces, set the tone as Schwarting and Hotchkiss both had six aces. Klock posted a team-high four kills and Karagosian added four assists.
