On Monday night, the Chittenango girls volleyball team puts its perfect mark on the line at Tully against a Black Knights side that, like the Bears, has not dropped a set this season and is a reigning Section III champion.
It’s the first of two matches against Tully in a span of nine days, with the rematch set for Jan. 30 on Chittenango’s home court.
This showdown was preceded by another series of lopsided victories for the Bears that started last Tuesday with a visit to Port Byron and a 25-15, 25-10, 25-17 sweep of the Panthers.
In all, Chittenango had 17 aces, six of them by Shelby Maring as she finished with 11 assists and Tiffany Scofield contributed 15 assists, plus two aces.
Earning five aces, Tyla Cutrie also had eight kills, a total topped by Megan Mayer, who put together 12 kills and six digs. Sydney Pellman also had six digs to go with four aces and three kills.
It wasn’t much different in Thursday night’s 25-7, 25-15, 25-13 home sweep of the Pulaski Blue Devils, where the Bears had nine different players combine for 18 aces and Cutrie pounded out 16 kills. Mayer had five kills and five digs, with Alyssa Frantz earning six kills and Katie Simmons contributing five digs.
Maring had four of those aces, to go with 13 assists and five digs. Pellman got three aces as Natalie Cowburn saw added time on the back line and earned six assists to go with Scofield’s five assists.
Before weather interrupted the schedule in mid-January, the Chittenango boys volleyball team went to Herkimer on Jan. 11 and prevailed in four sets over the Magicians.
Each of the first two sets went 25-20 in the Bears’ favor. Herkimer prolonged the match by taking the third set 25-21 and kept things close in the fourth, too, but Chittenango closed it out 25-22.
Keith Spurgeon, with 13 kills, and Griffin Smith, with 12 kills, split most of the front-line duties, while Seth Spurgeon had four kills and five digs.
Tim Ryder finished with 23 assists and four kills, matching Smith’s total of three aces. Chase Gordon gained two kills and Griffin Furco finished with three digs.
Then Chittenango took on Oneida last Wednesday night, and the Bears took its first defeat of the season in a five-set classic.
During the first two sets, the Indians rolled to 25-14 and 25-13 wins. Somehow, Chittenango roared back to control the third set 25-16 and dominate the fourth set 25-11.
Things weren’t close until the final set, a race to 15 that the Indians claimed by a narrow 15-13 margin as Ryder led the Bears with 32 assists, seven kills, six digs and three blocks.
Smith got 10 kills and eight digs, with Seth Spurgeon getting nine kills and nine digs as Keith Spurgeon had eight kills. Graham finished with seven kills and 11 digs.
Michael Hood (20 kills, 10 digs) and Noah Savage (16 kills, 10 blocks) led Oneida’s front line, with Justin Holmes getting 32 assists and 13 digs. Drew Fielder had 20 assists, seven kills and eight digs as Jordan Farwell managed 30 digs and Blaine O’Moore had 17 digs.
