CENTRAL NEW YORK – Through the entire month of September, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls volleyball team had navigated through a tough schedule and not lost any of its eight head-to-head matches.
All of that changed, though, last Monday night when the Hornets went to Cicero-North Syracuse Monday night and, missing top hitter Kalyna Dannenberg, found itself on the wrong end of a four-set decision.
At first, it seemed like F-M just had a slow start when, after a 25-19 loss in the first set, it dominated the second set 25-11, but things would turn around again.
C-NS, strong in all phases of the game, earned the crucial points in both the third and fourth sets, winning them by 25-20 and 25-21 margins to halt the Hornets’ eight-match win streak.
Rebekah Beasley still earned 22 kills and 19 digs, while Gretchen Stoppacher managed 10 kills. Ava Zerillo earned 36 assists and nine digs, with Kathryn McNany getting 21 digs.
At full strength, C-NS got 24 digs from Allison Navarra and 14 assists from Kendall Rumble to go with 11 digs. Up front, Grace Murray led with 10 kills, helped by seven kills from Piper Adams and five kills from Ellie Blumer.
Jamesville-DeWitt started the month with a ton of momentum, both from a five-set win over Fulton and by winning the Bronze division at the Sept. 30 Baldwinsville Fall Fling Tournament.
And it carried over into last Tuesday’s match with Central Square, where the Red Rams proved, in a four-set victory, that it could keep its poise in tense situations.
Both in the first and third sets, J-D and Central Square traded multiple set-point opportunities. Each time, the Rams would pull it out, 28-26 in the opener and 30-28 in the third.
That helped the Rams absorb a 25-15 defeat in the second set, and that long third set took a toll on the Redhawks, who were routed 25-11 in the fourth.
Merris Kessler, with 14 kills, led a balanced front line where Claire Trevisani got 13 kills and Aaliyah Anderson 11 kills. Cadence Milligan was sensational on the back line with 36 assists and 18 digs, plus four aces as Kanami LaClair earned 22 digs and Sophia Zoghby earned 19 digs.
Then J-D swept Oswego 25-8, 25-13, 25-19 on Thursday night. Milligan’s 17 assists, to go with three kills and three blocks, went to a balanced front line as Anderson had six kills, with Kessler, Trevisani and Zoghby each getting four kills. LaClair gained 13 digs helped by Zoghby’s nine digs and Alana Bates’ seven digs.
While all this was going on, Bishop Grimes, who entered October with a 5-5 record, climbed back above the .500 mark last Monday with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-11 victory over Hannibal.
Kayla Duenkel led the Cobras, earning a career-best 10 aces to go with six kills, two blocks and five digs. Chloe Dailey and Mia Reed each had four aces as Saba Fasama earned seven kills. Ava Christodoulou managed 15 assists and Elizabeth Corl finished with seven digs.
Then Grimes lost 25-23, 25-20, 25-19 to Solvay a day later, this despite Duenkel’s eight kills that led both sides. Christodoulo finished with 13 assists and six digs, while Corl earned 13 digs
In Thursday’s match with Class C favorite LaFayette, the Cobras dominated the first set 25-13, only to have the Lancers take the next three sets 25-14, 25-18 and 25-17.
Duenkel was superb with 16 kills, five blocks and eight digs as Christodoulou had 21 assists. Dailey earned five kills and Olivia Vitale added four kills as Corl (seven digs) and Caroline Bukuru (nine digs) led the defense.
Grimes lost on Saturday to Phoenix 25-12, 25-16, 22-25, 25-11, the Cobras’ overall record dropping to 6-8.
