Perhaps it was understating the matter to say that the Westhill girls volleyball team was furious with itself after seeing its dream of an undefeated regular season dashed by Cazenovia in a five-set defeat Oct. 20 at Buckley Gym.
The Warriors (15-1) didn’t have another league match until Tuesday night, when it faced Institute of Technology Central and won the opening set 25-3, a near-shutout. Margins of 25-12 and 25-5 followed in Westhill’s sweep of the Eagles.
Mackenzie Martin accounted for half a set’s points by herself thanks to 13 aces, to go with 15 assists. Bridget Lougen earned three aces to go with seven kills as Kayla Helfeld earned four aces. Brigid Heinrich, Jasmine Jackson and Emma Bryant got four kills apiece.
A big match on Monday saw Bishop Ludden rally to defeat Jordan-Elbridge in five sets to clinch an above .500 mark in the regular season at 10-8.
After winning the opening set 25-18, the Gaelic Knights lost, 25-18, 25-19, in the next two sets, only to reverse those numbers and beat the Eagles 25-19 in the fourth set and 25-16 in the final set.
Aurora DeShaies put together 18 kills, five aces and four blocks to lead Ludden’s efforts. Nicole Noreault had nine kills and seven aces, with Bridget Brogan adding six kills and 11 digs. Lundy Toia finished with three aces as Emma Catalano and Mary Patrick both got a pair of kills.
On the Gaelic Knights’ back line, Natalie Fagan got 15 assists, two aces and three digs, while Kari Plumridge earned 13 assists. Meghan Wilkinson contributed 12 digs and Sarah Smith earned four assists, two kills and three digs.
The Eagles would see Bailey Van Gorden gain 17 assists, four aces and four kills, with her passes often going to Emily Klock, who got 10 kills, four blocks and five digs. Jane Strife added 11 digs, three kills and three aces as Renee Eggleston gained six digs, three kills and three aces.
J-E would face Homer a night later and drop each of the first two sets by 25-7 margins, getting closer in the third set, but still falling to the Trojans 25-18 to end its regular season with an 8-11 mark.
Eggleston’s five aces and four provided a bit of a boost for the Eagles as Klock got two aces, two kills and five digs. Strife had four digs and Cassie Schader three digs as Homer’s Meleah Hartnett led her side with 20 assists.
Solvay concluded its regular season with a chance to clinch a winning record – which it did, the Bearcats improving to 9-7 with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-22 sweep over Mexico on Monday night.
Taylor Preble served up eight aces, adding five digs. Mackenzie McCarthy got 13 assists, adding six digs as she and Mikayla Knight both earned four aces. Knight and Bella Petralito had seven kills apiece, just ahead of Brielle Bagozzi’s total of six kills. Allie Posnick finished with six assists.
