No one needed to tell the West Genesee girls volleyball team about the importance of last Tuesday’s match at Baldwinsville. At some point, the Wildcats had to show it could scare the Bees, who have long reigned in both Section III Class AA and the CNY Counties League.

At the very least, WG did give B’ville lots of concern, nearly winning both of the first two sets. Once again, though, B’ville prevailed, claiming those two sets by 25-21 and 25-23 margins and also taking the third set 25-17.

It took sensational defensive efforts to keep WG close in those opening sets. Jaylin Mallore finished with 19 digs, while Sasha Mekker, in the process of earning 27 assists, got 10 digs. Audrey Dennis added nine digs and Rachel Hillery eight digs to go with 12 kills.  Carolyn King had five kills and five digs as Greta Jasinski matched that five-dig total.

B’ville, even with a mostly new starting lineup, prevailed thanks to veterans like Michelle Voyer, who had 13 kills and 13 digs, and Maddie Stone, who picked up 33 assists. Katie Welcher added nine kills and Kiannah Titus eight kills as Summer McClingtic had nine digs and Skyler Parrow-Strong contributed seven digs.

Back home on Thursday night, WG faced Fayetteville-Manlius, and it would go to five sets. A close first set went 26-24 in the Wildcats’ favor and, after rolling through the second set 25-13, the Hornets were two points from getting swept.

Instead of that, though, F-M pulled out the set 27-25 and, stunned, the Wildcats were run over in a 25-9 fourth set that evened the match. Somehow, WG found its form again in the final set and, by a 25-19 margin, pulled it out.

Mekker managed 35 assists, six digs, two aces, two kills and two blocks. Hillery had 15 kills and nine digs as Dennis got a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. King piled up seven blocks and eight kills as Madison Smith added seven kills, with Mallore notching 13 digs.

F-M, in defeat, saw Saara Vahtola earn 15 kills, six aces and 11 digs, with Paige Hulbert adding 14 kills and seven digs in front of Erianna Madill, who earned 36 assists.

Jordan-Elbridge fell in four sets to Hannibal last Monday. Each of the sets was a close one, the Warriors claiming an extended opener 28-26 and pulling out the second set 25-23. Two points from getting swept, the Eagles won the third 25-23, but just missed extending it to the wire, falling by that same 25-23 margin in the fourth.

Then the Eagles lost a five-set battle to Phoenix a day later. After losing the opening set 25-21, J-E dominated the second set 25-8 and won the third set 25-20, but tired late, allowing the Firebirds to win the fourth set 25-13 and the final set 25-16.

Emily Klock put away 20 kills and added 14 digs. Bailey Van Gorden earned 20 assists and 16 digs as Jane Strife had seven aces, 14 digs and three kills.  Sydney Young led Phoenix with 20 assists, four kills and three aces as Kristen Clapp got 15 assists and Morgan Bajish had seven kills, five aces and five digs.

As this was going on, Bishop Ludden met Bishop Grimes, and the private-school battle went to the Cobras in four sets.

Each of the sets was close, with the Gaelic Knights dropping the opener 25-23 but pulling out the second set 26-24. Things stayed close in the third set, but Grimes prevailed, 25-21, and would also win the fourth set 25-22 to close it out.

Aurora DeShaies managed nine kills for the Gaelic Knights. Natalie Fagan served up nine aces to go with three kills and three assists, while Meghan Wilkinson gained 20 digs. Kari Plurridge added six assists and Nicole Noreault five kills as the Cobras saw Raquel McDonald earn 14 kills, Bri Squier 11 kills and Samantha Houck 20 assists.

Yet another private-school foe fell on Thursday when Ludden swept Living Word Academy, rolling through the first set 25-13 and going well beyond the limit to win the second set 28-26 before closing out the Lions 25-18 in the third set.

Deshaies and Noreault both earned five kills and combined for seven aces, with Brogan and Catalano both gaining four kills. Fagan had 11 assists and Plurridge four assists as Brogan contributed seven digs and Wilkinson chimed in with six digs. With the win, the Gaelic Knights improved to 3-3.