ONONDAGA COUNTY – This was the week where girls volleyball teams from Fayetteville-Manlius, Jamesville-DeWitt and Bishop Grimes would make their way into three separate Section III playoff brackets.
Defending the Class AA title, F-M had an impressive effort last Tuesday against West Genesee, claiming all the key points in the second and third sets to sweep the Wildcats 25-15, 25-23, 25-22.
Kaylene Nobel gained 14 kills and 11 digs, with Kalyna Dannenberg adding 10 kills and 10 digs. Rebekah Beasley also had 10 digs to go with her five kills as Zoe Myint passed to all of them with 34 assists, adding five aces and 16 digs. Oksana Dannenberg amassed 16 digs.
Even more impressive was the poise shown by the Hornets in last Friday’s match with Liverpool, a team it beat in four sets back in late September.
After winning the first two sets 25-23 and 25-17, F-M dropped the third 25-17 and watched Liverpool out the fourth in another 25-23 decision.
However, F-M dominated the final-set race to 15 points, winning 15-5 thanks to Myint’s 55 assists that went to Kalyna Dannenberg, who had 18 kills, and Nobel and Beasley, who had 17 kills apiece.
Beasley and Oksana Dannenberg both earned 18 digs, with Nobel getting 16 digs and six aces. Liverpool’s Addie Tanton (24 assists) and Allyson Crandall (10 assists) fed it to Sophia and Lola Sageer, who both got 14 kills
As for J-D, it had little trouble in last Tuesday’s match against PSLA-Fowler, prevailing 25-6, 25-9, 25-7 over the Falcons.
Mia Stewart picked up five aces, with Claire Trevisani and Celia Kemmis each adding four aces. Cadence Milligan earned six assists as Maci Stewart and Aaliyah Anderson had three aces apiece.
But when the Red Rams met up with undefeated Fulton on Thursday night, it got beat 25-7 in the first set, the Red Raiders going on to take the next two sets 25-22 and 25-20.
Merris Kessler had five kills and four blocks, with Trevisani adding four kills and Aaliyah Anderson three kills. Milligan got 15 assists and Zamora McBride 12 digs as Natalie Frost (13 kills) and Sydney Sachel (22 assists) led Fulton.
J-D lost a 25-22, 25-18, 25-12 non-league match against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, though Milligan earned 22 assists behind a front line where Trevisani had seven kills and Kessler got six kills. Sophia Zoghby earned six digs.
Bishop Grimes got its own big win last Thursday when it outlasted rival Bishop Ludden in five sets.
After a 27-25 loss in the first set, the Cobras rolled 25-12 in the second and won the third 25-20. With several chances to end the match in the fourth, Grimes could not do so, the Gaelic Knights taking it 29-27.
Instead of discouragement, the Cobras settled down and won a final-set 15-9 decision seeing Avery Burnette responsible for lots of points thanks to her 22 kills and seven aces, Kayla Duenkel adding a career-best 10 kills.
Tori Coppola, with 35 assists and 11 digs, led a back line where Tori Sikorski also had 11 digs and Remy Cleland had 10 digs. Ashley Ince had eight digs and Hannah Kinne seven digs as Ince finished with five kills.
Before this, Grimes battled Class D favorite LaFayette last Tuesday night and could not get a set in a 25-16, 25-12, 25-11 defeat, the Lancers led by Layla Isaacs’ 10 kills and six aces and Chylure Bucktooth’s 23 assists.
Burnette finished with five kills, Kinne adding three kills. Ava Christodoulou got six assists and Coppola four assists as Cleland, Sikorski and Ince had eight digs apiece.
