At least for now, three area high school girls volleyball teams maintain a winter schedule, and hope to conquer their respective leagues and classes.
East Syracuse Minoa has plenty of ambition, and the Spartans got underway last Wednesday at Whitesboro after the weather-enforced postponement of a match with Camden earlier in the week.
In each of the first two sets, ESM had grand opportunities, but could not quite get the points it needed at the end. The Warriors won those sets by 25-23 and 28-26 margins before taking the third set 25-18 for the sweep.
Olivia Fortuno paced the Spartans with seven kills, while Morgan Ransom had seven digs. Ariana Costanzo earned 12 assists and Hannah Hulchanski got three aces as Whitesboro’s Yanna Pavlyukovets led her side with 16 digs, six kills and five aces.
Then, in Friday’s home opener against Rome Free Academy, ESM again was unable to claim a set during a 25-15, 26-24, 25-14 defeat to the Black Knights.
Fortuno had six kills, with Costanzo getting nine assists. Jazmin Tyo earned six digs as Alana Day and Skyler Mahoney gained three kills apiece.
Christian Brothers Academy, denied a chance to go at reigning sectional Class B champion Chittenango last Monday by the winter snows, did play on Wednesday against Pulaski and swept the Blue Devils 25-11, 25-23, 25-19.
Manlius-Pebble Hill would face Chittenango on Thursday night after seeing its own opener with Fabius-Pompey get snowed out.
The Trojans lost 25-5, 25-11, 25-4 to the Bears, who served up 22 aces, five each by Carolyn Myka and Olivia Fawcett as Bayla Cutrie earned four kills and Myka had six assists.
MPH has matches this week against Weedsport, Faith Heritage and Port Byron, with CBA also facing the Warriors and Panthers, plus a match against Cortland in between.
