Within a 24-hour span, the Skaneateles girls volleyball team had the capability to reverse the entire course of its season and earn the right to play for the Section III Class C championship.
As the no. 4 seed in a five-team Class C sectional bracket, the Lakers first had to negotiate an opening-round match last Monday night against no. 5 seed Jordan-Elbridge.
That didn’t prove too difficult, though. Skaneateles roared through the first set 25-6 and the second set 25-8, and while the third set proved much closer than either of the preceding two sets, the Lakers closed out the sweep 25-19.
Kelsey Farrell and Laura Wolford led the Lakers’ front line, earning five kills apiece, while Bailey Herr had four kills and Kelsey Kraetz got three kills. Anna Smith produced 10 assists and four digs, with Emma Goodell helping out thanks to her four assists. Farrell added three digs as Smith, Bella Falcone and Margaret Canty had two aces apiece.
This led to the Class C semifinal one night later, with Skaneateles trying to pull off what it couldn’t do twice during the regular season – namely, beat top seed Westhill.
But the third meeting went just like the first two as the Warriors, in control from the outset, claimed the opening set 25-16, and while the Lakers got a lost closer in the next two sets and nearly extended the match, it lost by margins of 25-20 and 25-23.
Smith still finished with 10 assists and seven digs, adding two aces and two kills. Kraetz led Skaneateles with five kills, while Farrell, Canty and Herr got two kills apiece.
Defensively, Herr led with eight digs, with Farrell matching Smith’s total of seven digs. Goodell and Mallory Davis finished with six digs apiece. Westhill saw Melissa Newcomb get 16 kills and nine digs, with Mackenzie Martin adding 32 assists and 10 digs. Delaney Martin and Xiomara Rodriguez had seven kills apiece, with 23 combined digs.
