Even with its 4-0 start, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys volleyball team knew that it would not climb to the top of the Section III ranks unless it found a way to beat three-time defending sectional champion Cicero-North Syracuse.

The Hornets would get a chance to do so last Tuesday night, on the Northstars’ home court, and were in great position late in the third set, only to have the Northstars regain control and prevail in four.

Helped by two 5-0 runs, F-M led 16-12 in the first set, but could not hold on as C-NS rallied to take it 25-22, but in the second set the Hornets managed to close it out 25-19 to pull even.

In that crucial third set, F-M surrendered the first four points, turned it around to lead 11-7, but then saw the Northstars go back in front at 14-13. A long chase followed, the Hornets catching up at 22-22.

However, C-NS gained back the serve, won the last three points of that set to take it 25-22, and then started the fourth set 6-0, never to get caught as it won 25-16 to end it.

Anderson Fuller still had 11 kills, three aces and six digs for the Hornets as Aaron Costanza added seven kills and six digs. Joe Powless got five digs, three aces and three kills as Chris Blum fed them with 26 assists. Evan Bybee (three kills) and Cyrus Felton (two kills) helped, too, as libero Isaac Frechette finished with seven digs.

On Friday night, F-M faced Oswego, and the pattern of the C-NS match repeated itself as it won the second set but lost three other close ones in a 25-23, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22 defeat to the Buccaneers.

Blum managed 43 assists, with Fuller getting 17 kills and four blocks. Powless had 12 kills and nine digs as Costanza had nine kills and Frechette earned nine digs. Oswego featured 21 kills from Mike Douglas and 42 assists from Nate Devinny.

A day later, F-M lost to Midlakes 25-18, 25-22, 25-20. Brandon Rodgers had 10 assists to help Blum, who got 15 assists. Powless managed nine kills and Frechette added six kills and seven digs.

Jamesville-DeWitt also played last Tuesday and swept Syracuse 25-18, 25-19, 25-17. Matt Cieplicki had eight kills and three blocks, with Nick Mandelis getting six kills and Nick Kemmis five kills, plus three aces.

Brevin Scullion served up six aces, adding three kills as Sam Fechtner got 13 assists and Liam Kaplan added four assists.

Then it was the Red Rams’ turn to face C-NS on Thursday night, and it nearly followed an identical pattern to F-M’s match with the Northstars, from a second-set victory to a close defeat in the third set that proved decisive.

In the end, J-D lost 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, unable, like the Hornets to recover from a close third-set defeat as Mandelis had eight kills and Kemmis added seven kills. Fechtner had 14 assists as Kaplan got seven assists, with Cieplicki and Kenny Hildreth getting three kills apiece.