Whether it was a new sensation or a familiar feeling, both of Baldwinsville’s volleyball teams walked away from Wednesday night’s televised twin bill with Section III championships in their possession.

Atoning for a defeat in last year’s Division I title match, the boys Bees pushed past host Cicero-North Syracuse in three sets, while the girls Bees earned a seventh straight sectional Class AA title, and 17th overall, by sweeping Liverpool.

Perhaps the worst thing that happened to B’ville’s boys was gaining the top seed for the sectional Division I tournament. Since just three teams qualified, it had no match from Oct. 22 until the championship round – a span of two weeks, with only a scrimmage against Division II champion Oswego as an interlude.

During that break, said head coach Dan Hyland, “we spent a lot of time trying to stay loose and keep a competitive edge.”

But there was no avoiding some early-match rust against no. 2 seed C-NS, whom it beat twice during the regular season. B’ville trailed most of the first set, the deficit growing as large as seven points, 14-7, before the Bees began to find its focus and, slowly, began to catch up.

At 22-22, B’ville pulled even. Then the two sides traded points, both of them squandering set points. At 25-25, the Bees had the serve, and senior Pat Dubiel said he was just trying to put that serve in the back corner – which he did for an ace. Seconds later, Dubiel’s kill clinched the set by a 27-25 margin.

Tight as that was, the second set proved even tighter, with 13 ties and a constant exchange of points. Still, the Bees grabbed a 24-20 lead, only to squander four straight set points, and then another at 25-24, before gaining back the serve and, again, prevailing in the set 27-25.

That seemed to break C-NS’s spirits, for in the third set B’ville never trailed, putting together all the pieces of its all-around game – power, good serves and defense – and, more importantly, keeping kill shots inside the line as it clinched the match with a 25-16 victory.

Fittingly, senior Corey Toscano put away match point with a big spike. It was his 14th kill of the night, with Dubiel often making the feeds through his 30 assists and adding six blocks and four digs. Ryan Gell and Dalton Mahan had five kills apiece, with Jonathan Dunn adding four kills and David Cerqua earning five digs.

Having cheered their male counterparts to victory, the B’ville girls took its turn on the court against Liverpool – just the opponent it wanted to face in the sectional finals.

It was the Warriors who did something rare during the regular season – win a set from the Bees during a league match, and though B’ville won that Oct. 7 match in four sets, it didn’t forget.

“That (dropping a set) was horrible,” said Smith. “But we learned from it.”

Head coach Mary Jo Cerqua agreed. “It motivated us all week long,” she said.

The title match reflected that motivation. After giving up the opening point of the opening set, the Bees never trailed again, methodically pulling away in that first set despite plenty of spectacular saves from Liverpool’s defenders to prevail by a 25-16 margin.

Much like the opener, the second set saw the Bees control matters, getting a 12-6 margin before Smith’s serves created a decisive 6-0 push and led to a 25-13 victory. The third set included a 15-2 opening spurt by B’ville that translated into a 25-12 margin to close out yet another sectional title.

Again, Smith and Hannah Klaben shared back-line duties, with Smith earning 15 assists and Klaben adding 11 assists next to libero Emily Pascale, who got five digs.

Up front, the Bees’ depth was again on display, Shayna Webber setting the pace with her 10 kills, with Rachel Aiello close behind as she earned seven kills. Abby May and Rebecca Lawrence had five kills apiece.

It all leads to AA regional finals on Saturday against Section II champions. B’ville’s boys are back in the C-NS gym to face Bethlehem at 4 p.m., while earlier that afternoon the girls Bees take on Shenendehowa at Niskayuna High School. Each side wants to advance to the Nov. 15-16 state championships at Glens Falls Civic Center.