CENTRAL NEW YORK – It didn’t take long for area high school girls volleyball teams to start battling one another, most of them within the tough confines of the OHSL Liberty division.
Westhill faced Solvay and Marcellus in consecutive matches during the first week of school, starting with a dominant performance last Tuesday night against the Bearcats.
The Warriors’ 25-8, 25-14, 25-15 sweep included 24 assists from Ava Baty, who added three aces, three kills and two blocks to display her all-around talents.
Allison Lancette (nine kills, two blocks) and Eva Tarolli (seven kills, three blocks) led Westhill’s front line. Brynn Schneider contributed five kills, Jocelyn Caputo and Sophia Dimovski each adding three kills.
Solvay, in defeat, saw Victoria Zappala earn two kills and three blocks. Hannah Cintron finished with six assists and Gianna D’Eredita got five digs.
Moving on to Thursday’s match with Marcellus, it went in much the same manner, Westhill closing things out with a 25-4 blitz through the third set after taking the first two sets 25-14 and 25-17.
Baty dominated the match, augmenting her 20 assists with seven aces as Alice Bender earned nine digs. Up front, Tarolli led the way with nine kills, Dimovski adding five kills as Caputo and Lancette had four kills apiece. Marcellus got four blocks from Elle DeMarle and nine digs from Bryn Goldsworthy.
Before this, Westhill swept Cortland 25-14, 25-10, 25-12. Tarolli had eight kills, with Lancette and Caputo each earning seven kills and Schneider six kills, plus three blocks. Baty amassed 26 assists and Bender earned 14 digs.
Marcellus got its first win of the season by topping Cortland 25-19, 25-14, 28-26. Maddy Foy and Dorothy McMahon had six kills apiece, with Sammy Gates and Harper Camp each earning five kills. Gates got four aces, as did Goldsworthy and Chloe Kutruff as Kutruff gained 12 assists and Goldsworthu finished with 10 digs.
Skaneateles, who beat Central Square in five sets in its Aug. 29 opener, returned to action last Tuesday night and earned a sweep of Mexico.
After a close 26-24 opening set, the Lakers cruised through the next two sets 25-13 and 25-11, Ayla Pas’scal leading the way with her nine kills and five blocks.
Ellie Walsh served up five aces and added six kills, while Cydney Pitman had eight assists, five aces and six digs. Delaney Fish dished out 13 assists, adding four aces and two kills.
The Lakers followed up Thursday night with a sweep of Phoenix to get to 3-0, getting through a 25-22 opening set before pulling away 25-13 and 25-17 from the Firebirds in the next two sets.
Pas’cal was sensational, amassing eight kills, seven aces, five blocks and three assists. Pitman contributed five kills, seven assists and six digs as Maggie Lootens had four kills, six aces and six digs. Fish managed 15 assists as Walsh had three kills, three assists, three aces and five digs.
Skaneateles then went to last Saturday’s Hornet Pride Tournament at Fayetteville-Manlius, joining West Genesee, but both of them finished behind Westhill, who beat WG, among others, on the way to the final and then rallied to beat host F-M 23-25, 25-20, 25-13 in the championship round.
