Now it was time for the area’s trio of winter high school girls volleyball teams to gear up for the closing stretch and see just how much each of them had improved since getting underway in November.
East Syracuse Minoa, whose match with Cortland on Jan. 12 was moved to this Friday, visited Camden last Tuesday night, and had little trouble with the Blue Devils, only threatened in the second set of a 25-12, 25-21, 25-15 sweep.
Gillianne McCarthy served up six aces to go with her six kills as Aubrie Williams recorded a team-best nine kills. Isabella Talarico amassed 17 assists and four aces as Kat Boland and Franchesca Polcaro had three kills apiece.
Then it was the Spartan duel Thursday between ESM and New Hartford, and it proved a lot tougher – but ESM pulled it out in a five-set battle.
After winning the first set 25-17, ESM dropped the next two sets by 25-19 and 25-21 margins. Just in time, though, the hosts found form and, in the fourth and fifth sets, roared past New Hartford by equal 25-16 margins.
Williams was sensational, with 18 kills, six blocks and five digs, while Polcaro had 10 kills and nine digs. Riley Abbot stepped up with nine kills, eight digs and three blocks as McCarthy contributed seven kills and two blocks.
On New Hartford’s side, Chloe Eisenbeck managed 13 kills and 11 digs, with Marie Winn adding 28 assists and 13 digs. Victoria Walters and Jordan Restivo each got 17 digs and Sidney Restivo managed 11 digs, seven kills and four aces.
Following this, ESM traveled to Saturday’s Mount Markham Touranment, where it reached the championship round before taking a defeat to Whitesboro. Talarico, Aubrie Williams and Arrica Williams each earned All-Tournament honors.
Back on Tuesday night, Christian Brothers Academy hosted Cortland (whose postponed Jan. 12 match with ESM was moved to this Friday), and though each of the three sets was close, the Brothers lost to the Purple Tigers 25-21, 25-23, 25-20.
Catherine Burns put together seven aces, 10 digs and five kills to lead CBA. Delaney Della Donna had six kills and nine digs, with Kristen DeLorenzo getting 15 digs and three kills. Virginia Nash added three aces as Cortland got 17 assists from Grace Call and had Kayci Olson contribute seven kills and 16 digs.
Then, in Friday night’s match against Cato-Meridian, the Brothers, looking to move its record to 7-4, did so with a 25-16, 25-14, 25-12 sweep of the Blue Devils.
Anna Jenkins led the way, getting 26 assists and five aces. Burns had six aces and seven kills, with Logan Congel getting eight kills as DeLorenzo finished with nine digs, four aces and three kills.
Manlius-Pebble Hill faced Weedsport last Tuesday night, and dominated the second set 25-13 after a 25-18 defeat in the first set, but the Warriors took over by winning the next two sets by 25-16 and 25-18 margins.
Still, Ren Brown had 12 assists for the Trojans as Anna Szombathy gained 13 digs, plus three aces. Mariah Rinaldi also had three aces as she amassed five kills and eight digs. Halle Erwin had four kills and six digs.
Liza Bruno and Claudia Cook had seven digs apiece, Bruno contributing three kills as, for Weedsport, Alesha Look (12 kills) and Haley VanLuven (13 assists) led the way.
Then MPH ran into undefeated, defending Section III Class C champion Tully on Thursday night, unable to gain much ground in a 25-16, 25-10, 25-14 defeat to the Black Knights.
Again, Brown stood out, earning seven assists and eight digs, to go with two kills. Erwin managed five kills and four digs as Bruno got two aces. For Tully, Gemma Guy had seven aces and five kills as Alexi Hamilton had eight kills and Grace Chaffee had 19 assists.
