All through this season, the Westhill and Marcellus girls volleyball teams had eyed each other, the Warriors blazing through all of its opponents while the Mustangs had a few more bumps, but still built a 7-4 record.
They finally clashed Thursday night, and the Mustangs won the first set 25-23, and threatened in the second set, too, before the Warriors pulled it out 25-21. Westhill also won the second set 25-17, but Marcellus almost took it to the wire before falling in another 25-23 decision in the fourth.
Montana Gedney and Mackenzie Martin both had double-doubles for Westhill, Gedney earning 14 kills and 11 digs, with Martin adding 27 assists and 10 kills, plus eight digs.
Also for the Warriors, Brigid Heinrich had 10 kills and Bridget Lougen eight kills, plus four blocks, as Sophia Sgroi earned seven assists. Leah Diefendorf, with 12 digs, and Isabella Radio-Rodriguez, with 11 digs, both were defensive standouts.
On the Marcellus side, Meghan O’Brien earned seven aces and seven kills, with Margaret Kianka getting nine kills. Olivia Quick gained 15 assists as Juila Piorkowski earned 12 digs and Rachel Randall picked up 11 digs.
Before this, both Westhill and Marcellus prevailed in sweeps last Tuesday night, the Warriors roaring past Phoenix 25-12, 25-17, 25-17, while the Mustangs handled Mexico 25-13, 25-8, 25-14.
Westhill tamed Phoenix as Martin amassed 27 assists, six kills, two aces and three digs. Lougen and Gedney both had nine kills, with Gedney getting six aces and Marlena Murphy three aces. Heinrich had six kills and Leah gained four digs.
Marcellus proved too overpowering for Mexico as Quick, with 18 assists, served as the anchor. Emily Welch managed five aces and three kills, while O’Brien got five kills and two aces. Sydney French added four kills and Randall seven digs as Lauren Young got six digs, matching Katherine Sauro with two kills and two aces.
Solvay found itself leading Skaneateles late in last Tuesday’s match, but unable to hold on in a five-set defeat to the Lakers.
A long, tough opening set went 26-24 in the Lakers’ favor. Solvay evened it up, 25-19, in the second set, and when it went beyond the wire to also take the third set 27-25, the Bearcats appeared to have control.
Instead, that third-set defeat made Skaneateles focus a bit more, and once it won the fourth set 25-19, the Lakers were on the way, going on to crush Solvay 25-9 in the final set.
Solvay had plenty of standouts, as Brielle Bagozzi picked up 20 kills and 16 digs, with Mackenzie McCarthy getting 21 assists and nine digs. Taylor Preble managed 28 digs and five kills as Mikayla Knight and Lauren Nichols both had seven kills and Bella Petralito earned five aces and six kills.
For Skaneateles, Emma Goodell earned 23 digs and Emily Baldwin picked up a season-best nine aces. Cassidy Pitman had 11 assists, with Sarah Delasin contributing seven assists and Olivia Nye six assists. Jenna Moore got five assists to go with her five kills. Mia Grasso led with nine kills, just ahead of Jessica Patalino, who had eight kills and three blocks.
On Thursday night, Solvay bounced back and handled Jordan-Elbridge in a 25-16, 25-15, 25-16 sweep where McCarthy, with 14 assists, and Allie Posnick, with nine assists, shared back-line duties with Preble, who earned 11 digs and four kills.
Petralito had eight kills and six digs, while Bagozzi added seven kills and matched Posnick’s total of three aces. Mikayla Knight had four kills and Phebe Guadagnolo three kills as, on J-E’s side, Bailey Van Gorden had four assists in front of Jane Strife and Cassie Schader, who got three kills apiece.
