Week after week, and match after match, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls volleyball team has effectively cast aside most of its opposition on the way to first place in the OHSL Freedom American division.
The Red rams moved to 6-0 in league play (8-2 overall) last Wednesday night against Fulton, winning the first and third sets by 25-23 margins while controlling the second set 25-15 in between.
Madeline Ferris had 18 assists as part of a back line where Eva Dougherty got nine assists and Kathryn Arendt had 11 digs. Up front, Alexandria Payne and Alex Frank both earned 11 kills, with Payne adding 10 digs and Frank seven digs. Amy Shen earned eight kills, three aces and four blocks as Lexie Gambacorto got six kills, six digs and three aces.
At Central Square two nights later, J-D swept the Red Hawks 25-18, 25-12, 25-17. Frank finished with seven kills, while Gambacorto again had six kills. Payne and Julia Cavanaugh produced five kills apiece as Dougherty amassed 19 assists. Kathryn Arendt matched Frank as they both earned five digs.
In its only match last week, Fayetteville-Manlius challenged West Genesee on Thursday night, but could not gain a set from the Wildcats, taking a 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 defeat and seeing its record fall to 4-7.
Saara Vahtola still finished with 12 kills, while Paige Hulbert had six kills and 10 digs. On the Hornets’ back line, Erianna Madill gained 20 assists, with Jillian Avery getting four digs and Ellen Burhle managing three digs. WG saw Sasha Mekker get 29 assists, Carolyn King earn 14 kills and Audrey Dennis get 10 kills.
Bishop Grimes returned to action last Monday night, against Living Word Academy, where it was competitive in all three sets, but still fell to the Lions in a 25-19, 25-21, 26-24 decision.
Samantha Houck led the Cobras with 18 assists and four aces. Bri Squier had six kills, with Raquel McDonald adding five kills and two blocks. Kendall Mancuso and Sarah Snavlin each got four kills as Mancuso added eight digs. Maria Canzano had five digs as Becca Vinciquerra earned three digs and two aces.
A night later, at Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, Grimes fared better, surviving two close sets to claim them by 26-24 and 25-23 margins before dropping the third set 25-20, but it recovered to edge the Rebels 25-22 in the fourth set to win the match.
McDonald put away 11 kills and three blocks, with Mancuso gaining seven kills and three aces. Snavlin had four kills and three aces as Houck produced 21 assists.
Thursday’s match with Hannibal was the Cobras’ third in four nights, and while it won the first set 25-22, it could not quite get the points it needed in the two sets that followed as the Warriors won them by 25-22 and 25-23 margins before pulling away, 25-11, in the fourth.
Mancuso put together 20 assists and 10 digs, with Vinciquerra gaining 14 digs. McDonald earned nine kills and Snavlin added seven kills as Canzana and Maria Gutchess both finished with four kills and four digs. Audrey Hathaway contributed six digs and three assists, but the Cobras fell to 5-8 on the season.
Moving to boys volleyball, Jamesville-DeWitt gained a 25-16, 25-10, 25-21 victory over Syracuse City last Tuesday night, seeing Liam Kaplan pick up 26 assists. Often, Kaplan’s passes went to Ryan Middleton, who had 12 kills, and Lucas Binder, who had 10 kills and three aces. Cameron Howe added four kills and Nick Mandelis also got three aces.
Two nights later, a far more exciting match unfolded against Liverpool. After winning the first two sets 25-16 and 25-23, J-D lost the next two sets 25-16 and 25-22, and were two points from defeat, but just in time saved things and won the final set over the Warriors 27-25.
Binder amassed 24 kills and three blocks, with Middleton getting 18 kills and four blocks. Howe earned 11 kills and Mandelis contributed seven kills. Kaplan produced a season-best total of 49 assists, more than twice that of Liverpool’s Frank Consentino, who had 24 assists.
Fayetteville-Manlius met Central Square on Thursday night, and once it survived a 26-24 opening set, the Hornets claimed the next two sets by 25-19 and 25-17 margins to complete the sweep.
Ryan Boshart, with 11 kills, led a well-balanced front line where Jack Fuller and Jacob Rhea both got 10 kills and Cade Collum added nine kills. Rhea added four blocks and Fuller three blocks as Chris Perry earned 28 assists. Boshart and Dean Assenza both got six digs as Jack Grifo gained four kills and five digs.
A day later, F-M lost a five-set match to Midlakes, winning the first sets by equal 25-22 margins, but watching as the Screaming Eagles claimed the next two sets 25-15 and 25-13 and edged the Hornets 25-21 in the final set.
Despite it all, Perry got 44 assists, passing it to Rhea, who had 16 kills and three blocks, along with Collum (12 kills) and Boshart, who had 11 kills and eight digs. Fuller gained five kills as Assenza contributed seven digs.