Onondaga — So close on one front, and so far away on another front, each of Jamesville-DeWitt’s volleyball teams could not get past their counterparts from Oswego in Wednesday night’s pair of Section III Class A finals at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
It was the girls title match that proved close and exciting, as the no. 2 seed Buccaneers outlasted the top-seeded Red Rams in a five-set thriller.
They alternated victories in the first four sets, each of which were decided by less than 10 points after semifinals on Nov. 6 where J-D swept Central Square and Oswego required five sets to get past Central Square, perhaps seasoning them for what lay ahead.
In the opening set, J-D jumped out to an early 7-3 lead before Oswego called a time-out. The Bucs then rattled off six points in a row and seven of eight to go ahead 10-8 and forcing the Rams to spend a time-out of its own. The rest of the set was tightly contested, but Oswego answered a late run by J-D with two of the final three points to hang on by a slim 25-23 margin.
Set two got off to a similar start, with the Rams earning five consecutive points and eventually grabbing a 10-6 edge. After a time-out, Oswego charged back and inched in front, 15-14, but J-D scored four in a row to push ahead for good and eventually take the set to even the match.
The early portion of set three was back and forth, with J-D inching ahead 12-10. Then Oswego started its biggest run of the night, picking up six straight points to force another Rams time-out, but the Bucs still extended the run to 11 consecutive points, seizing a 21-12 lead.
J-D would not go down without a fight, putting together five straight points as part of a late 7-2 push, but Oswego held on, 23-21, and reclaimed the lead, two sets to one.
continued — Now, in the fourth set, the Rams again were up at the midway point, 14-11, and again the Bucs came back and took the lead, threatening to end the match. Just in time, though, J-D steeled itself and, by earning the late points, won 25-22, once more squaring the match.
So, just 2 ½ weeks after Oswego survived a five-set battle with J-D on Oct. 23 to avenge an earlier four-set defeat to the Rams on Sept. 17, the two sides would again need the maximum number of sets to decide the sectional crown.
The pattern of the preceding two sets repeated in the fifth set, with J-D gaining a lead, and Oswego rebounding in the middle stages, using a 7-2 run to get in front 18-15.
Calling time-out, the Rams appeared to swing things in its direction with a 6-1 run of its own, taking a 21-19 lead. But in a match full of surges from both sides, Oswego had the last and most important one, notching four straight points and then hanging on, 25-22, to win the match.
Clara Culeton paced the Bucs with 26 kills and six blocks. Lauren Furlong registered 28 assists, with Sara DelBrocco picking up 12 digs.
After all this, J-D and Oswego would see their respective boys volleyball teams settle another sectional Class A title, but this one was more decisive in the Bucs’ favor.
Here, the opening set proved crucial. J-D jumped out 5-1, only to have Oswego go on a 19-9 run to seize the lead. Following a time-out, the Rams used a 6-2 run to pull within two, only to have the Bucs, with three straight points, close it out 25-20.
Trying to stay close with Oswego in the beginning of the second set, J-D only trailed 9-8 before surrendering three straight points. Despite a time-out, Oswego just kept rolling, winning 13 of the last 15 points to claim a 25-10 win.
J-D earned the first points in all three sets. During the third, the teams split the first dozen points before Oswego took control, using a 6-1 run to get away in the middle stages. All told, the Bucs closed the match on a 14-3 run, using a variety of devastating aces, hard-fought digs and powerful kills to close out the sweep 25-12.
