ONONDAGA COUNTY – For the first time this fall, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse girls volleyball teams went head-to-head last Wednesday night, and it proved one of the most memorable chapters in their long-time rivalry.
The Northstars looked like it had the match under its control – and then it did not, with the Warriors, down two sets, rallying and pulling out a five-set classic to stay undefeated.
Nothing early indicated that this would happen. C-NS dominated the opening set and won it 25-15, and even when Liverpool put up a challenge in the second, the Northstars did enough to double its margin 25-22.
Absorbing all this, the Warriors inched ahead in the third set and stayed alive, 25-20. The fourth set was even closer, C-NS getting to the brink of a match win but Liverpool converting the set point it needed to take it 25-23.
In the final-set race to 15 points, a match point was thwarted. Then, at 14-14, the Warriors gained the serve and were able to get the clinching point and win it 16-14.
Allyson Crandall led Liverpool’s back line, amassing 25 assists and 16 digs to go with three kills as Addie Tanton helped with 14 assists and five digs.
Not only did Sophie Sageer have a team-best 13 kills, she led the Warriors with 19 digs, just ahead of Lily Cornell’s 18 digs that went with four kills and Sarah Daniels had 17 digs. Sageer added three aces as, along Sageer on the front line, Lauren Poland managed 12 kills and Sarah LaTocha finished with eight kills.
On C-NS’s side, Ellie Blumer earned 15 assists, 11 digs and eight kills. Kendall Rumble had 16 assists, with Allison Navarra adding 20 digs. Grace Murray managed 12 kills and 13 digs, with Piper Adams and Grace Turrell each earning six kills as Rumble also earned four kills and three blocks.
Both sides had won last Monday night in three-set sweeps, C-NS by routing Henninger 25-8, 25-6, 25-4, Liverpool by getting past Central Square 25-20, 25-21, 25-21.
Of the two matches, the Warriors had a far more challenging proposition, but still made it three wins in a row as Sageer led with 10 kills, 10 digs and seven aces.
Elliana Vangelov managed seven kills and six digs, with Madison Ames adding three kills and five digs. Tanton earned 15 assists and Crandall eight assists as Lauren Ragonese manged 12 digs and Poland contributed six digs.
As that went on, C-NS got eight aces from Grace Schmid, seven aces from Ellie Blumer and six aces from Hannah George against Henninger. Grace Turell had a team-best six kills and Blumer finished with six assists.
Then, after the Liverpool loss, the Northstars went to Fulton a night later and could not recover, falling by scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-23. Natalie Frost led Fulton with 15 kills as Alyanna Dashnau added 18 assists and 10 digs.
The Warriors would face Jamesville-DeWitt Friday night and make it five wins in a row, sweeping past the Red Rams 25-6, 25-17, 25-14.
Crandall managed 17 assists and Tanton earned 15 assists, while up front Madison Ames broke through, earning 11 kills to complement eight kills and four blocks from Poland, six kills from Sageer and five kills from Vangelov. LaTocha added four kills.
