CENTRAL NEW YORK – Even as it improved in recent years, the Christian Brothers Academy girls volleyball team may not have found itself meeting the standards of its neighbors from East Syracuse Minoa.
All of this made last Tuesday’s match, and its result, particularly satisfying for the Brothers, who rallied from two sets to down defeat the Spartans in five sets to improve its overall record to 9-2.
Having seen an eight-match win streak end Jan. 12 with a loss to Tully, CBA was routed by ESM 25-11 in the opening set and fell further behind when the Spartans took the second 25-21.
Yet the closeness of that second set provided some hope for the Brothers, who took the third 25-19 and then, in a pivotal fourth set, was pushed to the brink of defeat.
When CBA pulled out that set 25-23, it carried all of the momentum into the final-set race to 15 and, by a 15-10 margin, completed its comeback.
Georgia Brown, with her 23 assists, passed it to Grace Catalano, who had 11 kills and seven aces, and Carleigh Morgia, who got 10 kills and two aces. Abby Uryniak added four kills and Josie DePalma finished with 15 digs.
On the Spartans’ side, Brooke Kirkpatrick had 17 digs and five aces, Natalie Peterson adding 25 assists as her passes went to Camille Mitchell, who had nine kills, along with Akuot Kuany and Margaret Mading, who had eight kills apiece, Kuany adding six blocks.
As a follow-up, on Thursday night CBA swept Pulaski 25-15, 25-18, 25-15. Morgia got five aces as she and Catalano both earned six kills, Erin Nardella adding four kills as Brown got 19 assists and four aces, Makenna Winchell earning seven digs.
In Saturday’s 25-12, 25-12, 25-18 sweep of Port Byron, the Brothers improved to 11-2 as, on that same day, ESM met Rome Free Academy and lost, 25-22, 25-15, 25-14 to the Black Knights despite 22 assists from Peterson, nine kills from Kuany and seven kills from Mading. Kirkpatrick had 17 digs and Emily Murnane got 12 digs.
Back on Tuesday, Manlius Pebble Hill met Fabius-Pompey and lost in four sets, the Falcons taking the first two 25-21 and 25-11.
Averting a sweep, the Trojans won the third 27-25, but lost the fourth 25-20 as Payton Taylor paced F-P, amassing 20 digs, seven assists and four kills.
Then MPH took its shot against Faith Heritage on Thursday, but were routed 25-12 in each of the first two sets. The Trojans did win the third 25-22 but lost the fourth 25-20 to fall to 6-5 on the season.
