CENTRAL NEW YORK – Though the competition has picked up as the fall has progressed, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys volleyball team still hasn’t let any local opponent get too close to knocking them off.
Of course, the Red Rams knew that Fayetteville-Manlius was capable of scaring them, even though it swept the Hornets when they first met this season on Sept. 21.
Four weeks later, the two neighbors met again, this time on J-D’s home court. As a loud, raucous home crowd looked on, the Rams again emerged victorious, moving to 15-0 and its overall win streak to 24 consecutive matches, though it proved a lot more stressful than that earlier match.
They were close in each of the first two sets. J-D claimed the opener 25-21, but F-M rebounded and, in the second, pulled it out 25-23 to get even.
Even when the Rams won the third set 25-19, the Hornets dragged out the fourth set, almost forcing J-D into a fifth set for the first time all season.
By a 27-25 margin, though, the Rams claimed it, buoyed by Luke McQuaid’s 27 kills and Aaron Ko’s 15 kills, with Avery Kielbasinski (nine kills) and Phoenix McBride (eight kills) helping on the front line and Tim Cooper setting a season mark with 54 assists.
On the Hornets’ side, Connor Sugar’s 38 assists went to a front line again led by Chris Cleary, who had 15 kills. Charles Addonizio had nine kills, Charlie Schroeder adding eight kills and Mike McAndrew six kills. Guy Juran led both sides with four aces and Cleary had 11 digs, Sean Kellish getting eight digs.
F-M already had a big win in the books earlier in the week, having gone to Cicero-North Syracuse last Monday and, in four sets, subdued the Northstars.
This wasn’t as lopsided as the Hornets’ Sept. 8 sweep, either. After controlling the opening set 25-15, F-M struggled in the second and C-NS took full advantage, winning 25-21 to even the match.
From there, though, the Hornets, unfazed by playing for the third time in four days, took the next two sets 25-14 and 25-16 as it displayed plenty of power.
Cleary led with 17 digs, but McAndrew (11 kills) and Addonizio (10 kills) also reached double digits, with Juran adding six kills and Schroeder five kills. Sugar managed 48 assists as McAndrew got four blocks, Jared Duggal had 13 digs and Kellish earned six digs.
That same night, J-D ran its win streak to 23 by sweeping Baldwinsville 25-19, 25-13, 25-22. Earning 39 assists, Cooper passed it to Ko and McQuaid, who each got 11 kills. McBride had seven kills and Kielbasinski contributed six kills.
East Syracuse Minoa got a 25-11, 25-22, 25-16 sweep of Midlakes last Tuesday night, with Austin Betts getting 12 kills and Tyler Quarry adding 10 kills. Jacob McGuigan and Jayce Domres had five kills apiece, all fed by Donovan Randall with his 30 assists as Tommy Clonan earned 10 digs.
Then, against Central Square on Friday, the Spartans swept the Redhawks 25-18, 25-17, 25-13. Randall’s 33 assists served a balanced attack where Betts, with 10 kills, was just ahead of Ryan Sullivan’s nine kills. McGuigan earned eight kills and Quarry got six kills. Clonan (eight digs) and Domres (seven digs) led the defense.
