ONONDAGA COUNTY – A few years ago, East Syracuse Minoa added boys volleyball, starting out at the lower levels, then moving up to junior varsity in the 2019-20 school year.
Though its debut at the varsity level was delayed by COVID-19, it did not deter the Spartans, who proved successful in last Wednesday’s opener against Central Square.
A dominant first set was decided 25-12 in ESM’s favor, and that carried over into the second set, which the Spartans won by a 25-18 margin.
The Redhawks did prolong the match, winning the third set 25-22, but ESM responded by taking the fourth set 25-18 for that historic first varsity win.
Up front, Will D’Agostino put away 12 kills and Nick Brown earned 11 kills, with Sean Finnerty adding eight kills. Devin Masacto-Buffaloe had 25 assists and Jacob Franklin added eight assists as Cole Thomas served up six aces.
ESM had to face powerhouse Cicero-North Syracuse on Friday night, and the Northstars proved too much in a 25-9, 25-13, 25-13 defeat, but there were still some standout efforts.
Mascato-Buffaloe, earning 13 assists and two aces, passed it to Aidan Finnerty, who earned six kills, and Brown, who got five kills. Thomas excelled on the defensive side with 11 digs as D’Agostino had four digs.
Fayetteville-Manlius had already taken a loss to C-NS on March 20, but rebounded last Wednesday night with a 25-10, 25-12, 25-17 sweep over Syracuse in its lone match of the week.
Aidan Liddell picked up 14 assists, with Jaden Duggal adding six assists. Up front, Brandon Rogers and Sam Elbadawi each got four kills, with Jack Perry and Cyrus Felton getting three kills apiece.
That same night, Jamesville-DeWitt went up against Oswego. After dropping the first two sets 25-20 and 25-21, the Red Rams, nearly swept, pulled out the third set 27-25, but then lost the fourth set 25-20 to the Buccaneers.
When J-D faced Syracuse on Friday night, it returned to the win column, taking just three sets to prevail by scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-16.
Nolen Brann picked up 10 assists and served up eight aces. Avery Tyson contributed four aces to go with two blocks and two digs. James Saroney had a team-best three kills as Jack Moore, Dev Patel, Ty Parker and Cooper Werner finished with two kills apiece.
