In the last week of its regular season, the Chittenango girls volleyball team continued to build up momentum and make its case as a championship contender. The Bears carried a five-match win streak into last Tuesday’s home tilt with 13-3 Cortland, and then made it six in a row by turning back the Purple Tigers in an impressive four-set effort. A close opening set proved important, Cortland hanging tough before Chittenango prevailed by a 25-22 margin, and the Bears used that momentum to claim the second set by a more comfortable 25-18 margin. Briefly, the Purple Tigers took over with a one-sided 25-14 win in the third set, but it didn’t last. Once the Bears surged into the lead in the fourth set, it didn’t get caught and, by a 25-18 margin, closed out the match. Up front, Leslie Choi and Corrin Stelakis each finished with 10 kills, while Emily Wood gathered up 18 digs to go with her eight kills. Allie Cerio earned 19 assists, plus six digs and two aces, while Hannah Bailey had six assists and six digs. Ashley Young finished with 15 digs, part of a defensive effort where Lyndsay Becker and Lauren Malloy each had eight digs and Allie Santorelli and Mackenzie Stevens had seven digs apiece. Danielle Lynch led Cortland, earning 23 assists, 19 digs and five aces. Good as that win was, Wednesday’s escape against Faith Heritage may have felt better. The Bears lost the first two sets, 25-14 and 25-19, to the Saints, before it woke up and won the next three sets by margins of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-10 to prevail in five. Stelakis and Wood both finished with 14 kills, Wood adding six assists and nine digs. Young had a team-best 14 digs as Bailey got 20 assists and Stevens earned 10 assists. Malloy finished with six digs. Faith Heritage saw Sheba Jackson get 11 kills and Allie LaCourse add 12 assists. For that, Chittenango improved to 16-2, and drew the no. 2 seed in the Section III Class A playoff bracket. It will meet no. 7 seed New Hartford or no. 10 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. After a pair of defeats the week before, the Chittenango boys volleyball team got back in gear last Tuesday night, going to Central Valley Academy and sweeping the Thunde 25-12, 25-18, 25-7. Aside from his 10 assists, Tyler Howard also picked up 10 assists. Zane Garvey and Grant Czarnecki each finished with four kills, with Garvey adding three aces. Holden Lalor had two aces, two assists and two digs. Another sweep followed on Thursday night as the Bears handled Sauquoit Valley, winning the first two sets by equal 25-18 margins and taking the third set 25-19. Garvey had seven kills and four aces, as Czarnecki and Andrew Clark each produced four kills. Tyler Howard earned nine assists and three aces, with Mitch Brophy also getting three aces. But the Bears lost in four sets to Mount Markham on Saturday, overcoming a 26-24 opening-set defeat to win the second by a healthy 25-12 margin, but watching the Mustangs prevail 25-13 and 25-18 in the next two sets as Chittenango fell to 8-3 on the season. Garvey still managed 11 kills and five digs, with Brad Markowski returning to the lineup and getting eight kills and Martin five kills. Tyler Howard also had five kills to go with his 31 assists as Jeremiah Burns and Seamus St. Ledger each had six digs. For Mount Markham, Brady Wheelock, with 29 assists, fed it to Dillion Bleaking (13 kills) and Dakota Davenport (12 kills) on the front line.