ONONDAGA COUNTY – Just as important as any wins attained by the Jamesville-DeWitt boys volleyball team this fall are the times it has dominated against its neighboring schools.
That includes two different sweeps of East Syracuse Minoa, which the Red Rams accomplished on Sept. 13 and again exactly one month later when the two sides reunited on J-D’s home court
It didn’t take long for the Rams to win the opening set 25-11. Each of the next two sets proved far closer, yet ESM could not get the key points late to extend matters as J-D took them 25-20 and 25-23.
Luke McQuaid paced the Rams’ front line, earning 12 kills. Aaron Ko and Avery Kielbasinski had five kills apiece, with Aidan Bates and Michael Ryan each earning four kills. With four assists, Bates also helped Tim Cooper on the back line, Cooper otherwise gaining 24 assists.
Already this season, J-D had defeated Fayetteville-Manlius, who got its own big win last Wednesday when it knocked off defending sectional Division I champion Liverpool in four sets.
Having swept the Warriors when they met in September, the Hornets saw the Warriors win the second set 25-22 to pull even after dropping the opening set 25-17.
In the third set, F-M went back in front, 25-19, and did just enough in the fourth set to close out the match 25-22 as Connor Sugar set the tone thanks to his 45 assists.
Chris Cleary, with 17 kills, led a Hornets front line where Mike McAndrew gained 11 kills. Max Danaher got nine kills and eight digs, while Charles Addonizio had eight kills, seven digs, two aces and two blocks. Kieran Egan had two kills, two aces and two blocks.
All of this changed in Thursday’s match against unbeaten Cicero-North Syracuse, who were only stressed in the second set as it swept the Hornets 25-12, 25-22, 25-19.
With his 19 assists, Sugar passed it to Cleary, who led with nine kills. McAndrew and Egan got six kills apiece as, for C-NS, Joe Seliger had 18 kills, Carter King got 10 kills and Jack Waite had 40 assists.
In Friday’s action, J-D was pushed by Baldwinsville, but won in five sets as ESM went up against Liverpool and lost 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 to the Warriors.
Against the Bees, the Red Rams split two opening sets that each ended 25-22 before dropping the third set 25-19. Needing to rally, J-D dominated the fourth set 25-12 and then won the final set 15-10.
McQuaid earned a set’s worth of points just with his 25 kills, adding seven aces as Cooper picked up 48 assists. Bates had nine kills and five digs, with Ko getting eight kills, Ryan seven kills and Kielbasinski five kills, four blocks and three aces.
