Decades before any of the current Jamesville-DeWitt girls volleyball players were born, the Red Rams were a winter powerhouse and, in 1975, emerged with a Section III championship.
Forty-one long years later, the Red Rams, now playing a fall schedule, ended that sectional title drought by venturing to nearby Fayetteville-Manlius last Saturday night and knocking off defending champion Oswego in straight sets during the sectional final.
Though the Rams had beaten the Buccaneers twice in the regular season, one of those matches was a five-set battle on Sept. 13, so J-D knew it could get into trouble if this final reflected that original meeting rather than the sweep on Oct. 26.
Indeed, each set was played on close terms, but J-D gained the crucial points and won all three of those sets by 25-21 margins, with Eva Dougherty as a central figure thanks to her 32 assists and five digs, and Alexandria Payne benefiting from Dougherty’s passes, putting way 21 kills and adding 11 digs.
Defensively, Kathryn Arendt paced the Rams by earning 26 digs, while Dougherty got help on the front line from Lexie Gambacorto, who put away seven kills and four digs while adding two aces. Julia Cavanaugh managed five kills and three blocks, while Alex Frank had four kills and seven digs.
While J-D prepared for the start of the state tournament Tuesday against Massena, Bishop Grimes was lamenting the lost opportunity at its first-ever sectional title following a five-set defeat to Bishop Ludden in the Class D final on that same F-M court.
They had met twice in the regular season within a 10-day span, splitting those matches as Grimes prevailed on Sept. 13 in four sets before Ludden rallied from a 2-0 deficit to pull it out in five sets on Sept. 22.
Six weeks later, with the sectional title at stake, another classic unfolded. Grimes took control late in a back-and-forth first set to claim it 25-20. Ludden started better in the second set and never let go of that advantage, prevailing 25-21 to pull even.
Moving to the third set, it was the Cobras’ turn to build a big advantage, as large as 18-10 before cruising to a 25-19 decision. Remembering its September comeback, the Gaelic Knights roared to a 20-8 lead in the fourth set and needed that cushion to withstand a Grimes charge and prevail 25-20 to take it to the wire.
That final set included several momentum swings and lead changes, but it was Ludden, clinging to an 18-17 lead, making the last and most important run, outscoring Grimes 7-2 to prevail 25-19 and lay claim to the sectional banner.
Bri Squier, with 11 kills, led a well-balanced Grimes front line that included Kendall Mancuso and Raquel McDonald getting nine kills apiece and Mancuso adding 11 digs. Becca Vinciquerra put together 29 digs and nine aces as Samantha Houck earned 28 assists, six aces and 10 digs. Maria Canzano finished with 17 digs. Audrey Hathaway added six digs and Maria Gutchess got four digs.
Two nights earlier, in the Class AA girls volleyball sectional semifinals, Fayetteville-Manlius caught up to undefeated superpower Baldwinsville – for at least two sets, anyway – but could not hold on in a four-set defeat to the Bees.
Even in a 25-18 opening-set defeat, the Hornets showed that it wasn’t intimidated by B’ville, and further proved it by playing a superb second set, earning most of the key points and prevailing 25-22. It was just the second time all season the Bees had dropped a set in any match against a Section III foe.
The good times didn’t last for F-M, though, as the Bees, through a series of well-timed runs, claimed the third set 25-16 and the fourth set by that same margin to advance to the sectional final against West Genesee.
Paige Hulbert led the Hornets with 17 kills and 10 digs, plus two blocks. Saara Vahtola put together 10 kills, four digs and 11 aces, while Jessica Burhle earned eight kills and, defensively, Jillian Avery (eight digs) and Ellen Burhle (seven digs) helped out. Sara Arthur earned three aces.
B’ville’s Maddie Stone gathered up 32 assists, many of the passes going to Michelle Voyer, who put away 17 kills. Kiannah Titus (eight kills), Maddie Stone (six kills) and Katie Welcher (five kills) helped out on the front line. Stone also had six kills and six digs.
Moving to boys volleyball, Fayetteville-Manlius, with a chance to earn a berth in its sectional championship match against Cicero-North Syracuse, could not quite grab it, falling in four sets to Baldwinsville in last Wednesday’s semifinal match.
B’ville had won both regular-season meetings five days apart on Sept. 9 and 14, but each of them took five sets, so it only figured that the Hornets and Bees would keep it close here, too. F-M, in fact, struck first by winning the opening set by a 26-24 margin.
Two points from a 2-0 advantage, the Hornets instead lost the second set, 27-25, and in both the third and fourth sets, F-M made great runs, but could not get the points it needed at the end as the Bees prevailed in those sets by equal 25-23 margins to take the match.
For the Hornets, Ryan Boshart and Jacob Rhea both earned 14 kills, with Boshart adding five digs and four blocks and Rhea getting two blocks and two assists. Cade Collum got eight kills as Chris Perry finished with 35 assists and six cigs. Jack Fuller had four kills and three digs as Jack Grifo contributed three kills.
On B’ville’s side, David Abraham produced 47 assists and David Cerqua got 16 digs on the back line, while Riley Shanon and Tyler Aiello each producing 15 kills and Aiello getting eight digs. Nate Johns had seven kills and Ryan Carson contributed six kills. F-M finished its season with a 9-6 record.
