A two-month stretch full of dominant performances culminated with the Chittenango boys volleyball team repeating as Section III Class B champions.
In Thursday night’s final against Vernon-Verona-Sherrill at Canastota High School, the Bears received only the briefest of scares from the Red Devils and eventually turned it on to earn a three-set sweep and defend the title it won in 2016.
VVS had swept its main rival, Oneida, in the sectional semifinals two nights earlier, but now was trying to reverse a pair of regular-season defeats to Chittenango, and never got close to completing that task.
During a steady opening set, the Bears didn’t get into serious danger, emerging with a 25-16 victory, and it may have relaxed a bit since VVS put up its best effort during the second set, staying within one, 20-19, deep into the set.
However, once Chittenango claimed that set 25-22, the threat passed. In the third set the Bears bolted out 10-4 and never got caught, roaring to a 25-12 victory as it saved its most lopsided set for the last one.
To set the tone, Tim Ryder earned 29 assists, leading a back line where Cooper Young got 12 digs and Tom Rooney finished with six digs.
Up front, Grant Czarnecki had 14 kills, adding three aces and three blocks, while Griffin Smith had nine kills, two aces and two blocks. Mike Culkin and Zach Wisey each got five kills as Ryan Pitt earned three kills.
In defeat, VVS got 21 assists from Owen Rose and 13 digs from James Renwick. Aidan Robinson had six kills and eight digs, with Nate Brewer adding six kills and four digs, with Matt Evans and Matt Denova earning five kills apiece.
