ONONDAGA COUNTY – Everything was just where the East Syracuse Minoa boys volleyball team wanted it for its first-ever appearance in a Section III championship match.
Here were the Spartans, on its home court, going for an historic title that, if attained, would also end the two-year reign of Jamesville-DeWitt as state champions and end the Red Rams’ remarkable 48-match win streak.
Somehow, J-D didn’t care about any of these circumstances, putting away ESM in just three sets to again grab the sectional title and keep its quest for a state championship three-peat alive.
Jumping out 10-3 in the opening set J-D saw the Spartans get six straight point but, after a timeout, regained control enough to win the set 25-19.
Each of the next two sets featured plenty of good play from ESM, yet it wasn’t strung together enough to snare a set as the Rams, by scores of 25-21 and 25-22, put the match away.
Avery Kielbasinski nailed five aces to go with 13 kills, while Owen Dougherty had 10 kills and three aces. Chine Okereke contributed seven kills and Carsen Kaelin managed 31 assists.
All of this followed the sectional Division I final where, for the second time in three years, Fayetteville-Manlius went to the top, stunning top seed Liverpool.
Swept in both regular-season meetings with the Warriors, the Hornets got out in front in the opening set and thwarted all of Liverpool’s possible runs, that initial 25-21 decision planting doubts that would never go away.
Even more telling was a second set where the Warriors led by four at one point, only to have the Hornets rally, get the lead and keep it by a 25-22 margin.
Liverpool did pull out the third set by that same 25-22 margin and then took a 12-8 lead in the fourth set, only to have F-M again take over and close it out 25-20.
Patrick Horton saw most of his 48 assists to go Charlie Schroder, who earned 23 kills, and Ben Resig, who got 16 kills plus 13 digs as Nathan Houck added eight kills and Matt Crisafulli had nine digs to equal Horton.
Both had swept their semifinal matches on Thursday – Liverpool over Cicero-North Syracuse, F-M topping Syracuse City in a 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 decision where Resig had 14 kills and Schroder 13 kills plus five blocks. Horton got 28 assists and Crisafulli earned nine digs.
Back in Division II, J-D and ESM each had four-set wins in their respective semifinal matches, with J-D turning back Oswego and ESM topping Living Word Academy.
There was a brief moment of concern for the Rams against the Buccaneers when it lost the second set 25-23 after a 25-10 win in the opener. But J-D quickly regained control, dominating the third set 25-15 and the fourth 25-9.
Kaelin’s 35 assists went to everyone up front, from Kielbasinski with his 10 kills to Dougherty and Okereke each earning nine kills, Dougherty adding six blocks, five assists and eight digs. Kian Sarmast got seven kills and 10 digs as Zach Hildreth led the defense with 13 digs.
ESM fell behind Living Word after the Lions took the first set 25-23. After pulling even 25-17 in the second, ESM battled through a close, pivotal third set before pulling it out 26-24 and then winning the fourth 25-20 to advance.
Tyler Quarry managed 15 kills, with Ryan Sullivan getting 12 kills and Jacob McGuigan 10 kills. Rocco Cambareri had eight kills and Caleb Byrd six kills in front of Randall, who recorded 38 assists. Tommy Clonan got eight digs and Sullivan had seven digs.
But that would prove the Spartans’ last win of the season as J-D, along with F-M, went back to the state tournament, the Rams facing Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Wednesday in the regional round at Guilderland High School before the Hornets face Shenendehowa.
