A simple task faced the Westhill girls volleyball team last Saturday at Fayetteville-Manlius – namely, perform exactly like it did against Cazenovia two weeks earlier, but with a Section III Class B championship at stake.
Try as it could, though, the Warriors could not pull it off as an inspired Lakers side led early and withstood multiple comeback attempts to prevail in four sets.
They had met a year ago in the Class C final, the Lakers prevailing there. Here, the opening set proved quite important as the two sides traded point spurts, but at the end the Lakers pulled it out, 25-23, giving itself a cushion against a second set where Westhill took charge early and pulled away to win 25-16 and pull even in the match.
Moving to the third set, Westhill nearly made a great comeback. Trailing 24-21, the Warriors fought off three set points, only to have Cazenovia get the serve back and then hang on to take that set 26-24.
Now determined to put things away, the Lakers roared out to a 16-6 advantage in the fourth set. Again the Warriors fought back, but Cazenovia was able to get the final points it needed to prevail 25-21 and earn another sectional title.
In defeat, Mackenzie Martin earned 35 assists, 18 digs, five kills and three aces. Montanna Gedney had 13 kills and 19 digs as Sara Galante added 11 kills and 16 digs, with Brigid Heinrich earning 14 kills. Sophia Sgroi had nine digs and Leah Diefendorf added six digs.
Cazenovia had already gained payback once in the sectional semifinals, avenging its Oct. 17 five-set defeat to Marcellus by claiming the rematch 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 over the Mustangs at Buckley Gym.
It was simply a matter of Marcellus running into a focused, confident opponent that played at a high level, overcoming Olivia Quick’s nine assists and three kills.
Michaela Godbold had four aces as Sydney French got nine digs, Julia Piorkowski seven digs and Rachel Randall five digs. For Cazenovia, Delaney Yorks dished out 29 assists and Lauren Burbidge earn 13 digs. Morgan Hodinger, Lindsey Lawson and Madison West each finished with nine kills.
Westhill, meanwhile, ended Solvay’s season in the other sectional semifinal in its own three-set sweep, a stark contrast to the five-set battle these two neighbors had on Sept. 19. Consistent and strong, the Warriors won 25-17, 25-16, 25-19.
Gedney led the way with 10 kills, seven assists, six aces and six digs Galante gained seven kills, five aces and eight digs as Martin had nine assists, four kills and four digs. Diefendorf, with six digs, and Sgroi, with four digs, helped on the defensive side.
For Solvay, who finished its season at 11-7, Allie Posnick had seven assists, with Anna Rolince getting four kills as Gabby Rivera earned nine digs and Brielle Bagozzi had six digs.
West Genesee had survived one round of the sectional Class AA tournament, but never got close to top seed and defending champion Baldwinsville in the semifinals, taking a 25-8 loss in the first set and 25-13 defeats in each of the next two sets.
Anna Snyder still had 13 assists for the Wildcats (10-9) as Carolyn King earned six kills and Audrey Dennis added five kills, plus five digs. Greta Jasinski had six digs. Maddie Stone paced B’ville with 26 assists, her passes going to the likes of Sophia Cronk (nine kills), Rileigh Kimball (eight kills) and Katie Welcher (seven kills).
Back on Monday night, Bishop Ludden, defending the sectional Class D title it won for the first time in 2016, met Living Word Academy in the semifinals, with a berth in the title match against top seed Bishop Grimes at stake.
Having lost the first set 25-17, the Gaelic Knights were close in the second set, yet fell 26-24, and though it won the third set 25-23 to stay alive, Ludden lost to the Lions 25-14 in the fourth set.
Aurora Deshaies finished with 11 kills, while Sarah Smith had four kills. Madison Prowak matched Deshaies’ total of four aces as she also got five assists. Sarah Morrell earned eight assists. Meghan Wilkinson got 20 digs as Ludden finished with an 8-11 record
