Only a few points, scattered here and there amid continual action, kept the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team from making a return to the state Class AA final four.
A familiar nemesis greeted the Bees for last Saturday’s AA regional final at Gloversville High School, and Shenendehowa, despite all the effort B’ville threw at them, prevailed in a tense four-set classic.
As the Bees have earned 10 consecutive sectional championships, it has meant annual trips to the regional round – and most of the time, Shen served as the opposition, with B’ville getting the upper hand for a while, but the Plainsmen enjoying recent success.
Here, it threatened to go either way for quite a while. The first set alone saw a rash of lead changes and was still tied at 25-25 before Shen gained the serve and then held on to it for a 27-25 victory.
They remained tightly bunched in the second set, the Bees going in front by as many as four points, but the Plainsmen roaring back to tie it 16-16. Here, Shen broke out in front a bit earlier, and by a 25-22 margin, went up 2-0 in sets.
Not wanting to get swept, B’ville led throughout the third set and held on to win by that same 25-22 margin, with Katie Welcher able to earn the kill on set point.
The tension built in the fourth set through nine lead changes and eight ties. But here it was Shen able to get the final points and, in yet another 25-22 decision, advance to this weekend’s state final four at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Throughout the match, Rileigh Kimball was sensational for B’ville, earning 22 kills, nine digs and three blocks as Jenna Garvey got 24 assists and Summer McClingtic contributed on both lines with 12 assists, 10 kills, four aces and seven digs.
Welcher got six blocks to go with two kills as Sophia Kordas had five kills and three digs and libero Maggie Wiegand earned 13 digs. For Shen, Ashley Lavigne had 41 assists as Rose Talty, Maddy Frutchey and Katie Greene got 10 kills apiece.
So after 16 consecutive wins, B’ville again was stopped in the regional round, but will see just five seniors graduate – Welcher, Wiegand, Carly May, Sophia Cronk and Sophia Cali.
Having Kimball, McClingtic, Kordas, Maddy Shuler, Jenna Wallace and Brooke Clute among the likely returning players for 2019 gives the Bees reason to think that another pursuit of sectional and state championship glory is easily within reach.
