CENTRAL NEW YORK – Amid a lot of exciting matches late in the regular season, the area’s trio of winter girls volleyball teams got set for the respective post-season pushes.
East Syracuse Minoa, fresh off big wins the week before against Christian Brothers Academy and Chittenango, was humbled again last Monday in a three-set defeat to Rome Free Academy.
The Black Knights prevailed 25-16, 25-18, 25-23, overcoming 30 digs by Brooke Kirkpatrick and 31 assists from Natalie Peterson as Akuot Kuany had 10 kills, with Camille Mitchell adding nine kills and Margaret Mading seven kills. Emily Murnane had 13 digs to go with her five kills.
Turning it around on Thursday night, ESM swept Utica Proctor 25-15, 25-16, 25-23 as Kuany had 11 kills and Mading six kills. Peterson finished with 24 assists as Kirkpatrick and Mading had six digs apiece.
When CBA went up against Chittenango last Monday, the Brothers lost the first two sets 25-16 and 25-23, but then pulled out a third set 25-22 to avoid a sweep.
With several chances to take it further to a fifth set, CBA could not do so, ultimately dropping that fourth 28-26 to the Bears despite Grace Catalano getting 10 kills and equaling Carleigh Morgia’s total of 12 digs.
Josie DePalma finished with 17 digs, part of a back line where Georgia Brown had 19 assists and eight digs. Chittenango got 15 assists and 11 digs from Alex Sylstra as Taylor Streiff had seven kills and 27 digs, with Stephanie Huckabee getting six aces to go with her seven kills.
Manlius Pebble Hill won last Monday against Weedsport, rolling through the first set 25-13 and pulling out each of the next two sets by 25-23 margins to sweep the Warriors and improve to 9-5 overall.
Lyb Brudin led the Trojans’ front line with 13 kills, adding six digs. Gianna Rinaldi and Emily Fadda-Conrey got three aces apiece and combined for seven kills as Kate Chaffee earned 24 assists and Abby Hinshaw had 22 digs. Rinaldi tacked on 10 digs.
Then MPH had its own match with Tully Thursday and was close in the first set before taking a 25-21, 25-16, 25-12 loss to the Black Knights, who got 19 assists from Alexa Shay, adding to her career total that has surpassed the 1,000 mark.
