The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Stockbridge Valley girls volleyball eliminated from playoffs
MUNNSVILLE >> The Stockbridge Valley girls volleyball team finished the regular season with a 12-2 record, a conference championship and the No. 2 seed in the Section III Class D tournament.
Thursday night, the Cougars suffered just their third loss of the year.
No. 7 seed Manlius Pebble Hill sprung the early round upset, defeating Stockbridge Valley 28-26, 14-25, 25-23, 26-24 in the quarterfinals.
MPH Coach Jim Tuck attributed the victory to “not giving up” and “senior leadership”. The Spartans’ epitomized re- siliency, rallying in all three games they won despite Stockbridge Valley being within two points of victory. Additionally, Tuck acknowledged that his team was without its starting setter but Nora Colley and Sophi Novak had great games to help pick up some of the slack.
MPH nearly ran away with
of the slack.
MPH nearly ran away with the first game of the match, jumping out to a 18-8 lead.
The Spartans manufactured runs of 5 and 8 points by taking advantage of unforced Cougar errors and playing solid defense.
The Cougars tightened things up however, closing the gap to 22-16 before going on a nine-point run of their own to force match point. MPH won the game 28-26 on a return that landed in the middle of three Stockbridge players, each player expecting one of the others to volley.
After the heartbreaker in the first game, the home team dominated the second game, never trailing on their way to 25-14 win. MPH remained in striking distance in the first half of the game, but Stockbridge finished on a 13-1 point streak, fueled by several blocks and Katelyn Green’s powerful serve.
The home team carried its momentum over to the third game, and it appeared that they were well on their way to a second win in the match as they never trailed en route to a 23-17 lead. At this point, Coach Tuck called a time- out and could be seen speaking animatedly with his team.
Whatever his message was, it worked. MPH responded by scoring eight straight points and stealing the game from the favorites.
The final game of the match witnessed twelve ties and five lead changes in another nail-biter.
The biggest lead came late, with Stockbridge Valley trailing 23-20. The hosts fought back, tying the game at 23 before taking a slight 24-23 edge. MPH however, would not be denied their upset.
After winning a long rally for match point, the visitors final - and match-winning - point was awarded on a net violation on a questionable call, somewhat spoiling a riveting matchup.
As Stockbridge Valley’s successful season ends, MPH looks ahead to its next matchup against No. 4 seed Faith Heritage.