CAZENOVIA – All of the battles the Cazenovia girls volleyball team waged during a tough 2024 regular season would lead to a group of players ready to tackle the Section III Class B playoffs.

Hosting Phoenix in Friday night’s sectional quarterfinal at Buckley Gym, the no. 4 seed Lakers got off to the quick start and never got caught, defeating the no. 5 seed Firebirds in four sets.

These same two teams had met a month earlier and it was Phoenix getting the four-set victory, taking over in the third and fourth sets despite 26 assists and 18 digs from Lucy Bliss along with 14 kills apiece from Alyssa Wardell and Olivia Pirkl.

Now it was Cazenovia who seized the early initiative, going out in front in the opening set and winning it 25-19 before a second set where it played even better and prevailed 25-17.

Phoenix, for a moment, appeared ready to make up all the ground when it rolled through the third set 25-14, but Cazenovia resumed its top form in the fourth and by that same 25-14 margin closed out the match.

Defense was the main reason for this win, starting with 19 digs from Bliss and continuing with 16 digs from Pirkl and 14 digs from McKenzie Warman as Catiee Fenton earned nine digs, Jocelyn Szalach got seven digs and McKenna Weismore had six digs.

Most of the 22 assists Bliss recorded went to Pirkl, who earned 10 kills, and Wardell, who had eight kills and five blocks. Szalach and Sofie Reger had three kills apiece, with Fenton and Weismore each earning three aces.

Now Cazenovia challenges top seed and defending champion Westhill in next Tuesday’s Class B semifinal, the winner to travel to Phoenix next Friday at 5 p.m. for the championship match against Marcellus or Homer.