CENTRAL NEW YORK – Even if there are top large-school sides in area boys volleyball, none of them has, over the course of the last two years, proven able to equal Jamesville-DeWitt.
Yet it nearly happened Friday night, the Red Rams finding its 42-match win streak in jeopardy until it regrouped in time to rally past Cicero-North Syracuse in five sets.
Few expected anything from a C-NS side sporting a 2-6 record, but for two sets the inspired Northstars ignored its struggles and, by gaining all the important points late, won a pair of 25-22 decisions.
Yet C-NS could not finish it off, for in the next two sets J-D found its customary form, claimed those sets by equal 25-11 margins and then ignored the pressure of maintaining its long win streak to win the final set 15-8.
Avery Kielbasinski earned 22 kills and eight blocks, helped by Owen Dougherty’s 13 kills, Kian Sarmast’s 11 kills and Chine Okereke’s eight kills. Passing to all of them, Carsen Kaelin had a career-best 51 assists and added nine digs. Sarmast had 10 digs and Dougherty matched Kaelin earning nine digs.
Before this, the top Division I contender, Liverpool, offered the challenge – and the Red Rams beat it back in just three sets that all ended up in similar places.
Both the first and third sets were 25-19 decisions and the second set was 25-18, J-D leaning heavily on Kielbasinski, who piled up 22 kills mostly fed by Kaelin and his 37 assists.
Dougherty got nine kills and a team-best 10 digs, with Okereke earning six kills and Nevin Cosbey five kills. Kellen Conway managed 20 assists for Liverpool, with Sean Frawley getting 10 kills but no one else more than Amaree Burton’s four kills.
J-D followed up a night later with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-21 sweep of Central Square, Kaelin spreading his 31 assists around as Daniel Nemi stepped up to get nine kills, with Dougherty, Deacon Enright and Zach Hildreth getting five kills apiece. Hildreth also had eight digs as Cosbey produced five aces.
East Syracuse Minoa and Fayetteville-Manlius square off next Monday night, both of them coming off busy weeks.
ESM improved to 9-1 last Tuesday with a 25-9, 25-11, 25-19 romp over Central Square where Donovan Randall had six aces to go with 22 assists and Tommy Clonan added five aces.
Jacob McGuigan got four aces and five kills, with Brady Clappin and Rocco Cambareri taking advantage of their increased playing time matching McGuigan’s five kills. Tyler Quarry, Caleb Byrd and Phil Evans had four kills apiece.
Then, facing Baldwinsville on Thursday night, the Spartans put together a 25-7 second set in between winning the opener 25-19 and hanging on 25-22 in the third for the sweep.
Quarry and McGuigan each picked up 11 kills, with Ryan Sullivan getting seven kills. Byrd earned five kills as Randall picked up 26 assists and seven digs, Tommy Clonan leading the defense with 10 digs.
F-M had its own match with B’ville Tuesday and prevailed in four sets, controlling the first two 25-16 and 25-19 before a 25-19 defeat in the third forced the Hornets to rebound and win the fourth 25-21
to take the match.
Earning 37 assists, Patrick Horton passed it to a front line where Ben Resig produced 15 kills and Charlie Schroder had 12 kills. Ethan Wong contributed five kills, three aces and seven digs, Max Panol adding six digs and Chris Noel four kills.
