In order to go as far as it wants, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls volleyball team will need to get past Oswego.
The Red Rams had done so on Sept. 25, sweeping the Buccaneers in three sets as it still remembered how Oswego had beaten them in a five-set thriller in the 2017 Section III Class A finals.
Yet when these same two sides gathered last Monday night, the result was different, and J-D suffered its first Salt City Athletic Conference defeat of the season, falling back into a tie for first with Oswego in the league standings, each at 7-1.
After losing the first set 25-17, the Rams did win the second set 25-21 and was two points from moving out in front. However, the Bucs took that set 27-25 and, seizing the momentum for good, went on to handle the Rams 25-17 in the fourth set to end it.
Madeline Ferris finished with 20 assists, 17 digs, seven kills and three blocks, a fine all-around effort augmented by remarkable defense from Alexis LeClair, who had a career-best 40 digs, plus four aces.
Linda Shen had 12 kills and 13 digs, with Erica Schwedes and Cara Glazier each getting 14 digs as Glazier added four kills and Cassie Murphy had six kills and six digs.
J-D would face Homer Wednesday night, and not only got over the Oswego match with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-17 sweep of the Trojans, but made some history, too.
That came from Ferris, whose 23 assists (to go with five kills, two blocks and nine digs) gave her 1,000 career assists, a rare accomplishment for a high school player.
Skylar Hardt, up front, had 10 kills and six digs, with Shen getting five kills and three aces. Fiona McNeil and Amber Hamernik picked up four kills apiece.
At Central Square Friday, J-D ripped the Redhawks 25-14, 25-10, 25-17. Ferris added 26 more assists to her total, plus five aces as Hardt got 11 kills and Shen had 10 kills, plus six aces. LeClair earned 15 digs.
Fayetteville-Manlius handled Henninger last Tuesday night 25-8, 25-8, 25-14 as Morgan Napier, with her 25 assists and three aces, passed it to nine different players who earned at least one kill.
Harper Stoppacher led with eight kills, while Juliana Myagkota had four kills. Anna Williams and Rachel Quilty-Koval had three kills apiece as Nina Avery and Kendra Broddus both produced six digs.
A far more challenging match loomed on Wednesday, F-M taking on Liverpool, whom it beat in four sets on Sept. 21. Looking to go to 12-1 in advance of a showdown with Baldwinsville, the Hornets instead suffered a setback, falling to the Warriors in five.
Even with a 25-23 win in the first set, F-M saw Liverpool take the next two sets 25-21 and 25-18. Thus, it could absorb the Hornets’ 25-9 fourth-set blitz and, in the final set, hang on in another 25-21 decision.
Quilty-Koval finished with 14 kills and 12 digs, with Myagkota adding nine kills. Sonja Napolitano had six kills, with Broddus getting four kills, two blocks and seven digs. Williams got five kills.
Napier notched 35 assists and four aces, but Liverpool’s Sydney Caviness had 41 assists, passing it up front to Marissa Baskin (16 kills, eight digs) and Sarah Ayling (11 kills, nine digs), among others.
F-M handled Nottingham on Friday 25-4, 25-9, 25-16, a quick match where Quilty-Koval had five kills and four aces, with Broddus getting six assists and Napier adding five assists, with Sophie Thomas getting four assists.
Bishop Grimes, coming off a tough five-set defeat to Bishop Ludden on Oct. 11, rebounded last Monday by beating Auburn.
The Cobras won the first set 25-22 and lost a narrow second set 26-24, but took over from there, handling the Maroons 25-19 and 25-18 in the next two sets.
Raquel McDonald had 11 kills and 10 digs, with Bella D’Andrea getting five aces as she, along with Ajak Ater and Abbey Clapper, had three kills apiece. Audrey Hathaway earned 17 assists and Mara Gutchess seven assists as Becca Vinciquerra (six digs) and Maddy Mowers (five digs) helped on the defensive side.
