Without having to deal with a string of tough matches in the next few weeks, the Skaneateles girls volleyball team had to establish itself whenever it came across an opponent that could give them trouble.
When Marcellus arrived Tuesday to renew the long rivalry between the two sides, the Lakers dropped the first set 25-22 and were in danger of losing the second set, too.
Yet once Skaneateles pulled out that second set by that same 25-22 margin, it took charge, outclassing the Mustangs 25-19 in the third set and 25-18 in the fourth set to take the match.
Jessica Patalino put away 16 kills and earned 17 digs, with Maeve Canty doing the same tasks on her way to 14 kills and a team-best 19 digs as Hannah Blowers added seven kills.
Feeding all of them, Lily Delasin picked up 31 assists, adding three aces, five digs and two blocks. Emma Keady had five assists, three aces and two kills as Lily Simmons had six digs and Zoe Franciamone four digs.
For Marcellus, Bronte Stahl had 18 assists and seven digs, with Evelyn Webster getting 16 digs. Up front, Sydney French led with 10 kills as Michaela Godbold added six kills and Anna Fern four kills.
A night later, Skaneateles bashed Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, steadily avoiding any kind of letdown by putting away the Rebels 25-16, 25-14, 25-18.
Delasin’s 28 assists were spread around as Patalino led with eight kills, served up seven aces and contributed six digs. Blowers added seven kills.
Canty augmented her five kills with a team-best 10 digs and Simmons was great on the defensive side, too, earning nine digs to go with three kills and two aces. Kristen Henry also had three kills as Keady and Reagan Evans got three aces apiece.
This leads to another big match on Monday at Buckley Gym, where Skaneateles (11-3) challenges defending Section III Class b champion Cazenovia right before a Tuesday trip to Hannibal.
