CENTRAL NEW YORK – In recent years, the Cazenovia girls volleyball team would get to a certain ceiling and then find itself not quite able to break through it against the best the Onondaga High School League has to offer.
And no one is better in the league than Westhill, the 2023 state Class B finalists and a recent two-time state champion, all of which the Lakers would deal with in Thursday night’s match that would end with a three-set defeate.
Before all this, Cazenovia met Marcellus Monday at Buckley Gym and staged one of the better comebacks in program history to edge the Mustangs in five sets.
All went poorly in the first two sets as the Lakers lost them 25-17 and 25-19, and in the third set Marcellus inched close to a sweep. Yet when the Lakers pulled out that set 25-23, something changed.
Confidence kept growing and the Lakers rolled 25-19 in the fourth set. Suddenly in charge, Cazenovia never got caught in the race to 15 points in the final set, winning it 15-8.
Defense had a lot to do with it, whether it was Olivia Pirkl’s 19 digs to go with her team-best six kills or the 12 digs Lucy Bliss managed to complement her 17 assists. Sophia Wilmot and McKenzie Warman had 11 digs apiece.
Bliss also gained five kills, a total Alyssa Wardell equaled while adding five blocks. Jocelyn Szalach had three kills, while Caitee Fenton contributed four kills, as did McKenna Wesimore, who earned three aces.
Contrasting this was the match with Westhill, which quickly went 25-5, 25-10, 25-16 in the Warriors’ favor.
Ava Baty got five aces plus four kills, six assists and seven digs to lead Westhill. Alice Bender had 20 digs behind a front line where Eva Tarolli amassed 13 kills, Jocelyn Caputo earned six kills and Emma West had five kills.
After playing Saturday in the Hornet Pride Tournament at Fayetteville-Manlius, Cazenovia is back home next week for matches Monday against Skaneateles and Wednesday against Cortland.
