A strong run through late September and early October had the Sknaeateles girls volleyball team in a strong position going into the late portion of the regular season that culminates with league and Section III tournaments.
When the Lakers hosted Living Word Academy last Tuesday night, it had not played for a week since a five-set win over Solvay on Oct. 4, but it still showed plenty of good form and won its sixth consecutive match.
Only the first set proved close, Skaneateles pulling it out 25-22, but once that got done, the Lakers roared past the Lions in a 25-11 second set and then closed it out, 25-16, during the third set.
Jessica Patalino not only got nine kills and three blocks, she also used her power with the serve to earn six aces. Mia Grasso earned four kills, with Aidan Bennett, Jessica Casper and Emily Baldwin adding two kills apiece and Baldwin gaining five ace, plus four digs.
On the Lakers’ back line, Cassidy Pitman got eight assists, while Sarah Delasin had four assists. Karah Blair had three assists and two aces as Emma Goodell earned four aces to go with five digs. Olivia Nye had two assists and Elizabeth Williams had two aces, plus three digs.
And this led to a big match Thursday night, with Skaneateles meeting Homer. Throughout the match, the theme was the same as the Lakers made good runs, but they weren’t enough in a three-set defeat to the Trojans.
Skaneateles fell behind by as much as nine, 21-12, in the first set before a late push that fell short, Homer prevailing 25-20. During the second set, the Lakers trailed before a spurt in the middle produced a 13-12 lead, which alarmed the Trojans into a closing 13-5 run to win that set 25-17.
Ultimately, Homer claimed the third set, too, by a 25-18 margin, led by Meleah Hartnett, who managed 17 assists and nine digs as Deede Partigianoni (seven aces, five kills, 12 digs) and Gillian McEvoy (seven kills, 12 digs) helped the Trojans out.
On the Lakers’ side, Baldwin led with just four kills as Patalino had six blocks to go with her three kills. Goodell earned 12 digs and Pitman three assists as Skaneateles fell to 8-6 in advance of matches this week against Jordan-Elbridge and Phoenix.
