ONONDAGA COUNTY – Even though it is the defending Section III champions, Fayetteville-Manlius still feels like it holds a challenger’s spot going into the Class AA playoffs, given top seed Baldwinsville’s unbeaten mark.
But the Hornets have the no. 2 seed and, in a six-team field, a bye straight into the semifinals, where on Wednesday it would host no. 3 seed Liverpool after the Warriors swept Auburn in the opening round.
F-M did sweep Corcoran 25-11, 25-11, 25-10 last Monday night, improving its record to 13-2 as Rebekah Beasley had six aces and seven digs, with Ava Zerillo adding five aces. Kaylene Nobel got six kills and Zoe Myint had 10 assists, Emily Pollard contributing six digs.
Jamesville-DeWitt responded well last Monday when it dropped the first set 25-23 to Cortland. A 25-9 romp of the Purple Tigers followed in the second set, along with closer 25-19 and 25-23 wins in the next two sets.
Cadence Milligan, with her 29 assists, passed it to Merris Kessler, who had 12 kills and six blocks, along with Aaliyah Anderson and Claire Trevisani, who had eight kills apiece. Yeva Balayan served up eight aces and earned 11 digs as Milligan got four aces and Zamora McBride got five aces and nine digs. Sophia Zoghby also had 11 digs as Kanami LacClair earned seven digs.
Given the no. 2 seed in the Class A sectional field, the Rams host no. 3 seed Central Square in Wednesday”s semifinal, with Fulton looming in a possible final Saturday at Chittenango if the top-seeded Red Raiders top Oswego.
Bishop Grimes, who was the no. 5 seed in the Class D sectional brackets, met up Saturday with no. 4 seed Bishop Ludden, a team it beat in five sets just nine days earlier – and once again, it would go the full distance.
A tight first set went 25-23 in the Cobras’ favor. After dropping the second set 25-17, Grimes dominated the third set 25-12, only to have the Gaelic Knights do the same 25-11 in the fourth.
The season rode on a close fifth set where the Cobras inched in front late and, by a 15-12 margin, earned a berth in the semifinals against top seed LaFayette.
Avery Burnette was sensational, earning 23 kills and 12 digs. Tori Sikorski, in addition to her 20 digs, served up seven aces as Remy Cleland added three aces to go with seven digs.
Tori Coppola, with her 33 assists and 11 digs, anchored the back line. Kayla Duenkel had eight kills, with Hannah Kinne adding five kills and Ashley Ince getting six digs.
Before all this, Grimes met up with Phoenix last Monday and lost in four sets, dropping the first two 25-16 and 25-19 before getting a 25-18 win in the third set to stay alive.
However, the Firebirds dominated the fourth set 25-11 to end the match, overcoming 11 kills and nine digs from Burnette and 20 assists from Coppola. Tori Sikorski had 17 digs and Remy Cleland 10 digs.
But Grimes rallied from two sets down to beat Oswego a night later, dropping the first two sets 25-17 and 25-23 but then handling the third set 25-14 and, two points from defeat, pulling out the fourth 27-25.
Dominating the final set against the Buccaneers, the Cobras won it 15-7 as Coppola led the way with 29 assists and a career-best 11 aces, adding 13 digs to complete a triple-double.
Burnette earned 14 kills and 24 digs. Kinne got nine kills and six blocks, with Sikorski getting 35 digs (another career best) and Cleland 13 digs to go with four aces. Ince had 15 digs as Duenkel added six blocks and three kills.
