Some mid-season struggles had left the Skaneateles volleyball team in need of a sustained run of victories to make itself more confident as the road winds toward the Section III playoffs.
Hosting Mexico last Tuesday night, the Lakers got one of those much-needed wins, handling the Tigers by 25-16 and 25-14 margins in the first two sets before closing it out 25-20 in the third set.
Cassidy Pitman had a strong all-around effort, earning 11 assists, six aces, three kills and two digs. Maeve Canty and Jessica Patalino each finished with six kills, while Karah Blair earned 12 digs. Jenna Moore earned three kills and Rachel Smith got five digs.
In another home match on Thursday night, Skaneateles handled Mexico’s neighbors from Phoenix, with the first set the closest as the Lakers won that one 25-17, then dominated the Firebirds 25-13 and 25-8 in the next two sets.
For the second match in a row, Pitman had 11 assists and six aces, with Blair improving to 13 digs and Smith getting seven digs. Sarah Delasin had four aces and Lily Delasin three aces to go with three assists, two kills and two digs. Aidan Bennett earned a team-best five kills as Moore finished with four kills. Patalino added three kills.
On Friday night, Skaneateles had a non-league match at Jamesville-DeWitt, where it fell in three sets to the Red Rams 25-16, 25-22, 25-19. Madeline Ferris, with 25 assists, and Alexandria Payne, with 15 kills, paced the Red Rams’ efforts.
Having fallen to 10-4 overall, Skaneateles faces another tough test on Tuesday when it visited Westhill before going to Homer Thursday and to Saturday’s Onondaga High School League Tournament at Phoenix.
