In the year where he may have put together one of his finest efforts, Cazenovia girls volleyball head coach Brian Ellithorpe hit another milestone in a particularly exciting manner.
When the Lakers held off Marcellus in five sets Monday night at Buckley Gym, it gave Ellithorpe his 400th coaching victory, counting both his 23-year tenure at Cazenovia and another at nearby Morrisville-Eaton.
That it took place in this manner was entirely appropriate. Cazenovia, once 3-4 this fall, was riding a seven-match win streak, and three of those victories came in five sets over Solvay, Homer and Skaneateles.
Now, against a strong Marcellus side with whom it was battling for first place in the OHSL Liberty National division, the Lakers looked to both get win no. 400 for Ellithorpe and atone for a five-set loss to the Mustangs in early September.
Cazenovia dominated the first set 25-13, but Marcellus roared back to claim the second 25-18. The third set swung back in the Lakers’ favor by a comfortable 25-16 margin and were close to ending it in the fourth, but the Mustangs rallied again, taking it 25-23.
By now, though, going a long distance in a match had turned routine for Cazenovia, and in the final set it reverted to its early form, again pulling away 25-13.
Josie Avery put together 39 assists, five aces, seven digs and three kills, with most of her passes going to Lindsey Lawson, who had 23 kills, added six blocks and got seven digs.
Helping on the front line, Mackenzie Waite had nine kills and six digs, with Alexis Sherwood adding five kills. Defensively, Faith King led with 12 digs, but Laura Clements (10 digs), Hope King (nine digs) and Kylie Fenton (seven digs) were close behind.
Marcellus got 13 kills, 12 digs and six aces from Sydney French as Michaela Godbold earned 20 assists and six digs, with Evelyn Webster contributing 18 digs.
A night later, Cazenovia closed the regular season against LaFayette, and at first stumbled on Senior Night as it lost the first set 25-17.
However, over the course of the next three sets, the Lakers rallied, taking the second 25-23 and then, in the third and fourth sets, winning each of them by equal 25-21 margins to make it nine wins in a row.
Lawson finished with 23 kills, three blocks and 10 digs as Avery got 33 assists and 17 digs. Clements had 14 digs and Hope King got seven digs as Waite, Sherwood and Fenton picked up three kills apiece. Sherwood also had four aces.
On LaFayette’s side, Bethany Miller excelled with 28 assists and 11 digs, while Grace Dow gained 14 digs. Raegyn Garbuti had 19 digs ahead of Grace Quick (17 digs), Alexandra Campbell (13 digs) and Keely Jocko (12 digs).
Five teams qualified for the Section III Class B playoffs, and Cazenovia, as the no. 4 seed, had to face no. 5 seed Homer in Friday night’s opening round at Buckley Gym.
Cazenovia prevailed over the Trojans in three sets, claiming the opener 25-20 and the second 25-17 before closing out the Trojans in a close 25-23 third set.
As a result, the Lakers will try to topple undefeated top seed Westhill in next Tuesday night’s sectional semifinal. The winner plays Solvay or Marcellus in the sectional final Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. at Fayetteville-Manlius.
