ONONDAGA COUNTY – Two-plus weeks to get ready for a single match – that’s what the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team faced.
Since the Bees were the top seed in the Section III Class AAA playoffs and only three teams were in the field, the Bees would not have to play its sectional final until Nov. 9 in Phoenix.
By then, 16 days will have passed since B’ville’s regular-season finale against Henninger and it would know who it would face since Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse would square off early this week to see who faced the Bees.
By contrast, the Baldwinsville boys volleyball team had one more week of regular-season action to face and, in Monday night’s match with Living Word Academy, rallied from two sets down to beat the Lions in five.
Living Word claimed the opening set 25-22 and also pulled out the second set 25-21, yet the Bees remained patient and, starting in the third set, gained full control.
A 25-16 win in that set was followed by a 25-19 fourth set and a victory in the final set, too, all of it sparked by Nate Mekker, who put away 13 kills, earned 17 assists and added three blocks and seven digs. Chase Johnson produced 19 assists and added six aces.
Ryan Levy gained eight kills, with Mike Naprawa earning seven kills. Liam Brogan had five kills and Nico D’Elia four kills Justin Diep led the defense with 20 digs. D’Elia contributed six blocks.
In Wednesday’s match against Syracuse City B’ville lost in four sets, nearly rallying after it lost the first two sets 25-23 and 25-17 as, two points from getting swept, it won the third 27-25 and were close in the fourth set, too.
Still, Syracuse pulled out that fourth set 25-23 to overcome 28 assists from Mekker and 25 digs from Diep. Brogan stepped up with 12 kills, Naprawa getting seven kills and Levy six kills. Johnson had five kills and D’Elia added four blocks.
Then, in Friday’s regular-season finale against East Syracuse Minoa, B’ville won a long opening set 29-27 and were close in each of the next two sets, too, only to drop them 25-23 and 27-25 before the Spartans took the fourth 25-20.
Johnson gained 18 assists, one more than Mekker’s total of 17. Diep earned 15 digs as Brogan joined Mekker with seven kills ahead of six kills from D’Elia and five kills from Levy. ESM got 54 assists from Donvan Randall and 26 kills from Tyler Quarry as Jacob McGuigan added 15 kills.
Already the Bees know its post-season assignment, facing Cicero-North Syracuse next Monday in the opening round with the winner to face top seed Liverpool in the semifinals. The championship match is Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. at East Syracuse Minoa.
