Anyone that needs a tutorial on why the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team had ruled over Section III Class AA for so long need only look at the opening set of Wednesday night’s sectional final against West Genesee at the Cicero-North Syracuse High School gymnasium.
A long rally on the opening point went in the Wildcats’ favor. Then the Bees rattled off nine consecutive points and didn’t look back until it had registered a 25-6 victory on its way to a third straight three-set sweep over the Wildcats in as many months.
No matter how many times the Bees have won sectional titles, said senior setter Maddie Stone, “it gets better every single time.”
Junior Michelle Voyer, who finished with a team-high nine kills, said the first set was as strong as her team had played all season.
“Everything was (working),” said Voyer. “Our sets and passes were good, and our hits were right on.”
That it would come against an opponent that knew exactly what it was facing was even more impressive. WG had tried, twice before, to topple B’ville, only to get swept both times, including an Oct. 4 decision in Camillus that netted Bees head coach Mary Jo Cerqua her 500th career win.
Now, having engineered its own sweep of Liverpool in its Nov. 3 sectional semifinal, the no. 2 seed Wildcats sensed an opportunity to make B’ville worry since the top-seeded, unbeaten Bees had dropped a set to Fayetteville-Manlius in its semifinal that same night.
The first set brought a quick dose of reality to WG, though, as, with Rachel Foertch serving, the Bees got those nine straight points and also had two other 4-0 runs in that set, including one that closed it out.
Things did get tougher from there, with the Wildcats forging 11 different ties in the second set and leading, 13-12, before B’ville put together another 9-0 spurt on Skyler Parrow-Strong’s serve. That made the difference as the Bees eventually prevailed 25-16 to take a two-set advantage.
Improving its play as the night progressed, WG chased B’ville throughout the third set, rallying from a 17-10 deficit and then, at 24-20, killing off three straight match points before Maddie Stone’s touch shot ended it, 25-23, and clinched another sectional title.
Stone delivered 27 assists to go with six kills. Kiannah Titus also had six kills as Katie Welcher contributed seven kills and five blocks. Parrow-Strong had four kills, with Abby Monica and Kristen Liu adding three kills apiece and Summer McClintic earning six digs.
This leads B’ville to a third consecutive Class AA regional final against Section II power Shenendehowa, who won these matches in 2014 and 2015. The winner of Saturday’s 11 a.m. showdown at Gloversville High will advance to the state final four in Glens Falls.
To beat Shen, said Cerqua, “we have to play very consistent volleyball, serve and react well and play very good defense.”
