A long break from match action, a determined challenger playing at a high level – these things nearly derailed the Cicero-North Syracuse boys volleyball team’s quest for a third consecutive Section III Division I championship.
But just in time, the Northstars rediscovered the form it has shown throughout this fall, outlasting Baldwinsviille in four sets Tuesday night on its home court to claim that sectional three-peat.
Head coach Mike Lucia said the presence of many former C-NS players in the stands underscored just what his team had accomplished.
“To do something never done before in program history is pretty special,” he said.
Getting that title meant overcoming plenty of obstacles during an impressive regular season, but then C-NS faced a 12-day break before meeting B’ville in the finals.
And while the Northstars tried to stay sharp through tough practices and a scrimmage with Oswego, it couldn’t match the intensity of a head-to-head playoff encounter, even if C-NS had swept the Bees twice during the regular season.
Between long hits and bad serves, the Northstars kept hurting itself in the first set, so despite a series of comebacks and a late 23-21 advantage, C-NS could not put things away and the Bees scored the last four points to pull it out 25-23.
The second set followed the same pattern, B’ville leading most of the way and retaking the lead three different times after C-NS pulled even. Having squandered a set point at 24-23, the Northstars were on the brink of going two sets down, but regained the serve and, by a 26-24 margin, drew even in the match.
Tristen Cummings, the Northstars’ main setter, said his team benefited from making a comeback from a two-set deficit to beat Oswego a month ago.
“We’re mentally strong,” said Cummings. “We knew we weren’t playing that well, but we knew we could overcome that.”
And in the third set, C-NS started to take over. A 12-2 run broke it open, with improved service and defense plus the presence of Josh Bigford at the net to put away points.
The Northstars won that set 25-17, and then broke out of a 6-6 tie in the fourth set, gradually getting away and leading by as many as nine points before closing out the match 25-18.
Cummings did it all, from earning 37 assists to putting up 15 digs, seven kills and five blocks. Libero Dylan Gesser had 20 digs as Louis D’Agostino earned 11 digs and Josh Pickard had seven aces, to go with two kills and two blocks.
Bigford finished with 28 kills, helped on the front line by Trent Caviness, who had nine kills to go with six assists and 15 digs, and Kyle Alberici, who had seven kills and two blocks. B’ville featured 21 kills from Tyler Aiello, 40 assists from Dan Cerqua and 16 digs from Aidan Priest.
On Friday night, C-NS faced Section II champion Shenendehowa in the Division I regional finals, with the winner advancing to next weekend’s state championships at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island.
In what amounted to a road match, the Northstars lost in three sets to the Plainsmen, who didn’t waste much time feeding off the home crowd and seizing control, leading through most of the first set as it prevailed 25-18.
Ultimately, the second set proved decisive. Trailing 18-15, C-NS put together its best run, a 9-2 push to take a 24-20 lead. Yet even with four set points, the Northstars could not convert any of them.
Instead, Shen gained the serve and, with Johnathan Kean fully utilizing that serve,held it through six consecutive points, pulling it out 26-24 as Kean’s ace completed the rally. The Northstars could not recover as the Plainsmen, from an 8-8 tie, grabbed the lead in the third set and closed it out 25-16.
Cummings finished with 24 assists, six kills and five blocks. Bigford put away 16 kills, adding four digs as Caviness got four kills, four assists and five digs. Gesser had six digs as Den Bleyker put up two kills and two blocks.
