CENTRAL NEW YORK – Match by match, and victory by victory, the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team is finding the form that has tormented so many local opponents for decades but was missing earlier this season
Yet another example of this trend was Tuesday’s match against visiting Cicero-North Syracuse. Instead of the five-set struggle it had on Sept. 19, this one only took three sets.
A close first set provided the most stress, yet the Bees earned it 25-22, proceeding from there to a 25-17 victory in the second set and then a 25-10 romp through the third that closed out the match.
Ten different players earned kills, led by Mallory Offredi, who put up eight kills as Nela Loftin finished with five kills. Sadie Phelps, Madison MacKaig and Natalie Dauphinais each finished with three kills.
MacKaig, who surpassed 1,000 career assists against West Genesee on Oct. 5, had five assists on this night, helping Maddy Gulich, who got 10 assists and five digs. Phelps led the defense with nine digs.
Even bigger, from the Bees’ standpoint, was the resilience it had to show Friday in defeating a Fayetteville-Manlius side who had edged the Bees in a five-set classic late in September.
Here, every single point seemed to build the tension. B’ville weathered it to win the opening set 25-21 and the second 25-23 and, in both the third and fourth sets, found itself on the brink of a win.
Both times, F-M fought it off, the Hornets pulling out the third set 26-24 and the fourth by that exact same score. Then, in the final-set race to 15 points, again the Bees led narrowly, but it held on and took it 15-13.
Amelia Hahn did it all, from 14 kills to eight digs, two aces and two blocks. Dauphinais stepped up, too, earning nine kills, four blocks and five digs.
Offredi offfered eight kills and Loftin set a season mark with nine blocks to go with her seven kills. MacKaig, aside from her passing, produced 18 digs, put away four kills and got four blocks. Phelps earned 18 digs and four aces.
When the Baldwinsville boys volleyball team had its own match with C-NS last Wednesday night, it could not keep up with the Northstars in a 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 defeat.
Xzavier Vanderstuow had six kills, with Brendan Micho getting five kills, five assists and two blocks. Ethan Davenport earned four kills as Nate Mekker recorded eight assists. Jack Waite (21 assists), Joey Lukasiewicz (10 kills) and Carter King (eight kills) were C-NS standouts as Josh Luce earned 10 digs.
However, it turned around Friday against Central Square, winning the first set 26-24, only to have the Redhawks take the second 25-14 and the third 25-23 to move in front.
B’ville saved its best work for the homestretch, tying things with a 25-19 fourth set and racing away 15-7 in the final set as Mekker got 26 assists and four kills, with Micho adding 11 assists and six kills.
Vanderstuow had a team-best 13 kills, though Davenport was right behind with 12 kills. Anthony Hildreth had five kills and Logan Rodriquez got four kills. Justin Diep kept points alive with his 15 digs.
