CENTRAL NEW YORK – Put to the test in the last week of its regular season, the Chittenango boys volleyball team passed through all of it and made it to the Section III winter playoffs without a blemish.
The key match was last Monday’s showdown with Sauquoit Valley. At the time, not only were both teams unbeaten (the Bears 14-0, Sauquoit 15-0), but of those 29 wins, 28 of them were sweeps.
It was Chittenango that would maintain its perfect run, in large measure due to what happened in the opening set. Both teams traded runs, and five different set points were squandered, before the Bears, at 28-28, were able to get back the serve and then, on the sixth set-point attempt, end it 30-28.
From there, it was 25-16 and 25-18 in the ensuing two sets, with Cole Thomas, as usual, at the forefront, recording 35 assists to go with seven digs, four aces, three blocks and two kills.
On a well-balanced front line, Rodger Mulholland led with 11 kills, five digs and two blocks, while Ryan Thousand had 10 kills and four digs. Jackson Blaszkow added nine kills and two blocks, Kyle Peryer getting six kills and two blocks as Jacob Wagner had four kills and four assists. Andrew Uryniak and Seth Boulter each had six digs.
A day later, it finally happened – the Bears lost a set, at the expense of Central Valley Academy, and only in the third set after Chittenango took the opening sets 25-18 and 25-20.
Armed with a 13-2 record, the Thunder didn’t go away, instead laying claim to that third set in another 25-20 decision. All that did, though, was provoke the Bears, who blitzed CVA 25-11 in the fourth to end it.
Thousand had 12 kills and eight digs, Blaszkow adding 10 kills, three aces and nine digs. Wagner improved to seven kills and two blocks, Mulholland getting four kills, three aces, four assists and nine digs as Thomas fed all of them with 26 assists, to go with four kills and seven digs. Uryniak earned six digs.
Chittenango’s girls volleyball team would not join the boys as possible sectional champions, the no. 3 seed Bears ousted by no. 2 seed Christian Brothers Academy in last Wednesday’s sectional semifinal.
Having lost twice to the Brothers in January (each of them four-set decisions), the Bears won a close opening set 25-23, but could not hold on to that advantage, CBA winning the second set 26-16.
The pivotal third set went 25-21 in the Brothers’ favor and it went on to take the fourth set 25-9 as Carleah Morgia put away 19 kills, with Naveah Bacheyie adding seven kills and six blocks, plus four aces and seven digs. On CBA’s back line, Josie Lachut dished out 31 assists, with Josie DePalma picking up 23 digs and Julie Zdep earning 10 digs.
For the Bears, who finished 13-6 (three of the defeats to CBA), Julia Spencer and Stephanie Huckabee each had eight kills and combined for 23 digs, Sydney Martin earning 10 assists and four aces and Alex Sylstra adding nine assists. Cate McGork had five assists and two blocks to complement Spencer’s three blocks.
CBA would go on to sweep Clinton in Saturday’s final at Watertown, earning its first sectional title since 2000.
