Even if it hadn’t yet caught up to Baldwinsville atop the CNY Counties League, the West Genesee girls volleyball team still found a way to master every other league opponent.
But when the Wildcats dueled with Westhill last Friday night in the “Dig Pink” match promoting breast cancer awareness, it was the undefeated Warriors coming out on top in three sets.
Among other things, this match was unique in that WG’s head coach, Clark Martin, was coaching against his own daughter, Mackenzie Martin, a standout on Westhill’s side. But the Warriors also had the benefit of a week’s rest, while the Wildcats had played twice in the previous days.
The first set proved close, and when Westhill prevailed 25-23, it seemed to have a long-term effect, because the Warriors proceeded to claim a close second set 25-21 and then blow out the Wildcats 25-13 in the third.
Mackenzie Martin earned 28 assists, her passes often going to Montana Gedney, who had 17 kills and eight digs, and Bridget Lougen, who gained nine kills. Martin and Brigid Heinrich each had four kills as Leah Diefendorf and Isabella Radio-Roriguez got seven digs apiece.
On WG’s side, Carolyn King led with nine kills and three blocks. Rachel Hillery had six kills, with Audrey Dennis contributing five kills and five digs. Sasha Mekker mixed in 20 assists and nine digs as Jaylin Mallore earned 13 digs and Madison Stanton added four digs.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Westhill would go on to finish first in Saturday’s “Pumpkin Smash” Tournament at Pittsford Sutherland, near Rochester, beating the host team from Sutherland in the semifinals and topping Rochester Mercy in the finals – a first-ever victory in that event for someone other than Sutherland and Mercy.
Just 24 hours earlier, WG had faced Cicero-North Syracuse, who owned a 7-4 record, Yet even with a home-court advantage, the Northstars could not prevent the Wildcats from pulling off a 25-19, 25-14, 25-20 sweep.
Again, a well-balanced front line helped WG control the match. Dennis had 10 kills and six digs, while Hillery and King each got nine kills and Hillery contributed a team-best 15 digs. Madison Smith added four kills.
Mekker put together 26 assists and 13 digs, helping everywhere on the back line as Mallore and Claire Leo each got six digs and Stanton earned six digs. Jessica Barry paced C-NS with 16 assists, nine digs and five kills.
This followed last Tuesday’s match with Nottingham where WG pulled off a rare 25-0 shutout in the third set following a 25-2 romp through the first set and a 25-8 win in the second set.
Mallore served in that third set and earned 13 aces overall, plus four digs. Hillery had her own run of eight aces to go with nine kills. Mekker only needed 12 assists, but managed five aces of her own. King had three kills and Greta Jasinski contributed four digs.
Jordan-Elbridge met Bishop Grimes last Tuesday and won the first set 25-13, only to see the Cobras turn it around and prevail by winning the next three sets, two of them by 25-17 margins, with a 25-19 third set in between.
Bailey Van Gorden earned 17 assists, most of those passes going to Emily Klock, who had 11 kills. Diana Lane and Jane Strife each had three kills and combined for 14 digs as Renee Eggleston got four digs, three kills, two aces and two assists. For Grimes, Samantha Houck (23 assists, eight aces) and Bri Squier (12 kills, five aces) led the way.
The Eagles went from there to a four-set win over Institute of Technology Central Thursday that included 25-10 and 25-13 routs in the first two sets before J-E eased up in the third set and lost it, 25-22, before roaring back to win the fourth 25-8 and improving its overall record to 7-8.
