BALDWINSVILLE – Even as it enjoyed returning to the court last spring, both of the Baldwinsville volleyball teams missed out on the unique and raucous atmosphere which only a crowd could provide.

That changed last Wednesday night when, at the Baker High School gym, fans packed in once more to see if the girls Bees, in this 2021 season, could maintain its long stranglehold on the area large-school ranks.

Long-time rival and full-time neighbor Liverpool provided the opposition, and it proved formidable, with each set fairly close before the Bees prevailed in three over the Warriors.

B’ville had first played on Sept. 4, with a solid showing in the Penfield Tournament. Now it worked through a 25-21 opening set against Liverpool before a tough second set that went beyond the wire.

Again, though, the Bees finished on top, 27-25, and it went on to take the third set 25-20 as ninth-grader Madison MacKaig served notice as the Bees’ new setter, earning 20 assists, six digs, four aces and three kills, helped on the back line by Kathryn AuClair, who had 10 assists and five digs. Veronica Dorosh earned 11 digs.

Up front, Kyrah Wilbur earned 14 kills and seven digs, with Sadie Phelps adding six kills, earning five aces and adding four digs. Gianna May had five kills and Jayda Pyle added four kills.

Now the Bees went to a second tournament, at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, while the B’ville boys volleyball team looked to recover after it lost to Liverpool last Wednesday in a 25-12, 25-13, 25-18 decision.

Aidan Delaney picked up five kills for the Bees, with Liam Ramsey adding two kills. Brendan Micho earned six assists as B’ville has matches this week against Cicero-North Syracuse, Central Square and Jamesville-DeWitt.

Back from Burnt Hills, the B’ville girls would get a test Monday at Fayetteville-Manlius before hosting Henninger and going to another tournament at Victor on Saturday.