Another remarkable season for the Chittenango girls volleyball team ended in perfection – 17 matches, 17 wins, 15 of them sweeps – and celebrating a championship on its home floor.
The Bears’ third consecutive Section III Class B title was attained without much stress last Saturday night as it put away no. 2 seed Canastota in three sets in the sectional final.
Before this, Chittenango first had to face no. 4 seed Oneida in last Wednesday’s sectional semifinal, and it faced a deficit for the first time all season – only to erase it quickly and beat the Indians in four sets.
Oneida was inspired during the first set, earning all of the crucial points and, by a 25-22 margin, moving out in front. But that turned out to be the Indians’ biggest mistake.
That’s because Chittenango roared back in the second set, winning it 25-13, and dominated the third set, too, claiming it 25-10 before a fourth set where, in another 25-13 decision, the Bears ended it.
Tyla Cutrie managed 18 kills and 13 digs, adding four aces and three blocks, while Bayla Cutrie stepped up for 13 kills to go with her 12 assists and eight digs.
Shelby Maring finished with 26 assists, with Savannah Penoyer getting 17 digs and Sydney Pellman adding 14 digs. Brenna Stanton got nine digs as Penoyer and Jada Masciat had three kills apiece.
Zoey Fox led Oneida with 18 assists and 13 digs as Jamie Jones got 14 kills, with Kayla Suppa (12 digs) and Nicole Smith (11 digs) also contributing on the defensive side.
A night later, the other semifinal had Canastota defeat South Jefferson, also in four sets, so it was the Raiders and Bears, two programs separated by a stretch of Route 5, battling for the sectional title.
Like Oneida did, Canastota played a strong first set, but here Chittenango withstood the challenge and claimed it, 25-21, and then claimed the second set by a more comfortable 25-18 margin.
The Raiders then made the third set close, knowing that, if it could extend the match, some pressure might fall on the reigning champions – but the Bears snuffed that out and, by a 25-22 margin, closed its perfect season.
Having notched more than 900 kills in her senior season before heading for beach volleyball at UNC-Wilmington, Tyla Cutrie added 24 more kills to that total in her final high-school match, adding 14 digs and three blocks.
Maring had 22 assists, two aces and two kills, with Bayla Cutrie getting 17 assists, four kills and six digs. Stanton and Penoyer both finished with 13 digs as Pellman had nine digs and three aces, Masciat adding three kills.
Now, with the sectional title retained, the Bears would see Tyla Cutrie graduate, along with its libero, Stanton, plus Maring and Pellman. Having Bayla Cutrie back next season will help, as will Penoyer and Masciat.
