ONONDAGA COUNTY – All through this autumn, the Skaneateles girls volleyball team kept its focus squarely on claiming the ultimate prize of another Section III Class C championship.
To claim it, Skaneateles had to, for the third time this season, defeat its fellow Lakers from Cazenovia in last Saturday’s sectional final at Chittenango High School.
And it didn’t prove too big of a challenge as, from the very first point of the match, Skaneateles was in complete control, not letting up until it had claimed a dominant three-set victory and another sectional banner.
The first six points of the match went to Skaneateles, and with the likes of Ayla Pas’cal, Kate Raddant and Maddy and Alice Bender in great form, it ended 25-14.
When it came to the second set, it got even more lopsided. Dominant serving from junior Maggie Lootens led to a string of points and a big margin that only grew until Skaneateles had the second set 25-8.
Cazenovia did play a bit better in the third set, but that only delayed things a bit. Skaneateles closed out the sweep 25-14 and earned a return trip to the state tournament, where next Saturday it plays the Section IV champion in the regional finals at Owego High School.
Pas’cal finished with 18 kills and three blocks and Raddant got 11 kills, with Bella Shoenborn adding five kills. Lootens finished with five aces as Maddy Bender amassed 38 assists and Alice Bender contributed 15 digs.
Two days after Cazenovia beat Phoenix in the first semifinal, Skaneateles took its turn against no. 4 seed Solvay, and would sweep the Bearcats 25-6, 25-9, 25-12.
Despite the one-sided nature of the match, Maddy Bender still had 22 assists as Alice Bender got 14 digs, Up front, Raddant led with seven kills, with Pas’cal adding five kills and Lootens four kills.
Solvay, whose season ended with a 10-9 record, saw Neveah Baker pick up 13 digs and Ashley Filicia earn six assists as Hannah Haase earned four kills and eight digs.
Up in Class AA, West Genesee, the no. 4 seed, had swept Cicero-North Syracuse in the opening round, and now faced top seed Baldwinsville in the semifinals.
Remembering that C-NS had shocked the Bees in this same round a year ago, the Wildcats, using this as inspiration, did not get too discouraged when B’ville claimed the first two sets 25-19 and 25-13.
Instead, WG won the third set 25-18 and then pushed the Bees in the fourth set, nearly getting the match to go to the limit before its season ended with a 25-21 defeat.
Cami Zajac put away 15 kills to lead the Wildcats, adding two blocks and six digs as Claire Devore added five kills. Sonya Dunham, with 11 assists, and Olivia Snyder, with 10 assists, split back-line duties with Sidney Hamilton, who earned 21 digs. Nadia Stojanovski earned five aces. WG finished its season with a 9-8 record.
