The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
M-E falls in five to Belleville-Henderson
Belleville-Henderson pulls away in deciding game to advance
MORRISVILLE >> Thursday’s Section III Class D girls volleyball quarterfinal between No. 4 Morrisville-Eaton and No. 5 Belleville-Henderson looked destined for a dramatic finish, going to a fifth game after each of the first four were decided by four points or fewer.
The Panthers quickly took all drama out of the deciding game.
The visitors jumped out to a 13-5 lead and never let the hosts get closer than five, winning 2225, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17 to advance to the semifinals.
“I think we just got in our heads,” said M-E coach Kristen Lansburg of the final game. “We didn’t pull ourselves out of it until it was too late but they played hard and they didn’t give up until the score hit 25. That’s all any coach can ask of anybody.”
Amanda Bond played an outstanding match for the Panthers, leading the team with 5 aces, 10 kills and 13 digs. Kellie Sherm-Salisbury contributed 9 kills, 18 assists and 4 blocks in the winning effort. Andrea Davis and Emma
Baker each had 12 kills in the loss for M-E, which stayed loose in the face of the pressure of postseason play.
“One thing I learned as a coach this season is if we take it too seriously sometimes, they don’t have fun and that’s when they play their worst,” said Lansburg. “So there’s times when you have to be that serious and there’s other times when you have to kind of let everything go and just tell them to play. They know how to do it.”
A close first game set the tone for the contest between the evenly matched teams. B-H used a 6-1 run to take an 11- 6 lead before M-E countered with a 6-1 run of its own to even the score at 12-12. The Panthers pulled in front 18-16 before two Davis aces led Lansburg’s squad during a four-point run that gave it a 20-18 lead. The visitors scored the next two points to tie the game but the hosts countered with five of the next seven to take a 1- 0 lead in the match.
M-E appeared to seize control of the second game and the match, taking an 18-13 lead. B-H came out of a timeout by coach Katherine Barber with eight unanswered points, capped by an ace from Karly Maloney. Kylie Lehr ended that run with a block for the hosts, who scored the next two points as well to tie the score at 21-21. The Panthers responded with the next four points to take the game and even the match at 1-1.
B-H played with the lead for much of the third game after taking a 6-2 lead. Three kills by Emma Baker and an ace by Davis helped the hosts tie the score at 7-7 before the visitors pulled in front again. An ace by Jordyn Camp tied the score again at 11-11 before a Lehr kill put M-E ahead 12-11. Sherm- Salisbury tied the score with a kill that capped a great hustle play by the Panthers. They took the next point as well but kills by Davis, Emma Baker and Morgan Fox gave the hosts the momentum. B-H tied the score at 22-22 and 2323 but Davis had a kill to put M-E back in front and it took the next point as well to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth game was the closest, featuring nine ties. Kills by Maloney and Haley Contryman followed by two Sherm- Salisbury aces put B-H ahead 19-17 and the Panthers scored the next two points after a Lansburg timeout for a four-point edge. The hosts rallied back, tying the score at 23-23 on a Morgan Fox ace and appearing to have the momentum. They dropped the next point, however, and a kill by Bond gave the visitors the game and evened the match at two games each.
M-E took the first point of the final game before B-H went on a 7-1 run, prompting Lansburg to take a timeout. Kills by Emma Baker and Davis appeared to stem the tide, bringing the hosts within 8- 4 before the Panthers pulled away again with a 5-1 run before the teams switched sides.
Emma Baker, Davis and Lehr had kills on three straight points to bring their team within five at 16-11 but Maegan Castle swung the momentum back in the Panthers’ favor with a kill. M-E cut the lead to six at 22-16 but by then it was too late. Maloney capped the B-H victory with a kill and an ace on the final two points, securing a berth in the Section III Class D semifinals where it will face No. 1 seed Remsen.
Despite the tough loss, Lansburg was still happy with the progress her team made throughout the season.
“I had a really good group of kids and I just told them that if somebody walked in the first day of practice, didn’t see us the rest of the year, came and saw us now, they wouldn’t even believe we were the same team,” said the firstyear coach. “And that’s all I ever wanted was to come in here and help them be better.”