Another Section III Class B championship would likely be in the possession of the Westhill girls volleyball team were it not for a single nemesis that proved too strong to overcome.
The Warriors went 15-0 against everyone except Cazenovia, who solved them twice, including Saturday’s sectional final at Fayetteville-Manlius, where Westhill led early, only to squander that advantage and fall to the Lakers in four sets.
Two months ago, any notion that Cazenovia would emerge from any match with Westhill seemed a fantasy in the wake of a three-set Warriors sweep of the Lakers on Sept. 7.
But as Westhill continued to turn away all foes, Cazenovia improved and, on Oct. 20, got even at Buckley Gym, where a large and loud home crowd saw the Lakers claim a seesaw five-set battle and hand the Warriors its first defeat of the season.
Now, after each side had won twice in the sectional tournament, Cazenovia and Westhill got together one more time. And the first set belonged to the Warriors, who prevailed by a 25-19 margin in large part because it went on an early 9-3 run and made few mistakes from there.
All that did, though, was evoke the Lakers’ best work as it used an 8-1 spurt to bolt to a 12-6 lead in the second set. Eventually, the margin got to 10 points, 23-13, and despite some late struggles, Cazenovia matched Westhill’s 25-19 verdict from the opening set to even the match.
As always when the first two sets are split, the third set can prove pivotal. Just as in the second set, Cazenovia put together an 8-1 run and led by 10, but the 22-12 margin nearly vanished in the face of a furious Warriors comeback where it fought off five set points before Molly Carges hit a spike that Westhill returned out of bounds to give the Lakers a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead in sets.
Most of the fourth set went back and forth and was tied 12 times, including at 19-19, but then Cazenovia made its decisive move, posting the last six points, including two kills apiece from Carges and Danielle Tedesco, to earn yet another 25-19 win and clinch the sectional title, too.
Westhill got to this showdown by getting past its neighbors from Marcellus in last Wednesday night’s sectional semifinal in straight sets.
Throughout the first set, the Warriors kept its distance from the no. 6 seed Mustangs, earning a 25-17 victory. Then, in the second set, Marcellus could not hold an early lead and, despite a furious late charge, took a 25-23 defeat.
Midway through the third set, Marcellus led again, 13-11, but Westhill wouldn’t let the Mustangs extend the match, reclaiming the lead and then hanging on by a 25-22 margin to complete the sweep.
Mackenzie Martin put together 24 assists, 12 digs and seven kills. Often, Martin’s passes went to Bridget Lougen, who had 11 kills, or Montana Gedney, who had 10 kills and nine digs. Emma Bryant added five kills as Jasmine Jackson got four kills and two blocks. Isabella Radio-Rodriguez had eight digs and Leah Diefendorf five digs.
On the Mustangs’ side, Olivia Quick had nine assists, with Meghan O’Brien getting four kills. Juila Piorkowski and Emily Welch each earned four digs as Welch, Sydney French and Katherine Sauro gained two kills apiece, Sauro adding four blocks and two aces.
Cazenovia’s path to the final involved beating Solvay in last Wednesday’s semifinal at Buckley Gym. The no. 5 seed Bearcats had, like Marcellus had done at Homer, won its quarterfinal on the road in a five-set clash with Skaneateles.
Start to finish, Solvay gave an all-out effort, but Cazenovia prevailed 25-19 in each of the first two sets and 25-20 in the third, leaving the Bearcats with a final regular-season mark of 9-7.
Allie Posnick and Mackenzie McCarthy still had nine assists apiece for the Bearcats, combining for 10 digs as Taylor Preble managed six aces and eight digs. Posnick added three aces.
Bella Petralito had a team-best seven kills and six digs, while Anna Rolince had five kills and two blocks. Briellle Bagozzi put together four kills and seven digs as Lauren Nichols added three kills and three blocks.
