An entire season of work for the Chittenango boys volleyball team boiled down to a single match.
It was the no. 3 seed Bears against top seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in Thursday night’s Section III Class B final, with Chittenango attempting to turn around two regular-season defeats to the Red Devils.
Having only won a single set against VVS, Chittenango knew it had to start well, and when it grabbed an early 4-2 edge, there was reason to think it could turn those earlier results around.
Quickly, though, the Red Devils took over, earning 17 of the next 24 points on the way to winning that first set 25-17.
The second set saw the Bears again go in front 4-2 and again have VVS control matters from there, this time prevailing 25-12 to grab a decisive advantage.
During the third set, Chittenango inched out in front 11-10, only to have the Red Devils take over one more time thanks to a 10-2 run. By a 25-18 margin, VVS won the sectional title.
To get to the final, Chittenango first had to go on the road and beat no. 2 seed Oneida in last Tuesday’s semifinal round, which it did by defeating the Indians in four sets.
They had split two previous encounters, but the Bears had prevailed in four sets on Feb. 12 and, less than two weeks later, would do so again.
The opening set proved crucial, each side getting several set points before Chittenango took it 29-27, which allowed it to absorb Oneida pulling even, 25-22, in the second.
An impressive third set went 25-16 in the Bears’ favor, and with the Indians threatening to take the match to a fifth set, Chittenango pulled out the fourth 25-23.
Tom McIntosh had 28 assists and Brandon Turner got 17 assists, adding 16 digs, nine kills and four blocks in a fine all-around performance.
Austin Strickler got 13 kills and three blocks, with Seth Kimball adding 11 kills and 28 digs. Caleb Barnard produced 29 digs and Mikel Pascual 18 digs as Alek Reymond finished with seven kills and eight digs.
The loss to VVS meant that the Bears’ season ended at 11-5. Eight seniors graduate, including Strickler, McIntosh, Pascual, Kimball and Brandon Turner.
