Tully topples ‘Chitt

TULLY, N.Y. » Chittenango and Tully faced off on the girls volleyball court for the first time this season on January 22, the showdown pitting a pair of undefeated defending Section III champions against each other and going in favor of the Black Knights.

The Bears got their shot at redemption in a rematch on Tuesday and played three close games but couldn’t pull out a victory.

Lexi Hamilton made big play after big play for the defending Section III Class C champion, helping them hold off the reigning Class B champ by a 25-23, 2826, 25-20 score.

Chittenango coach Amy Simmons was pleased with her team’s effort in defeat, saying the Bears played better this time around. She credited Tully’s talented squad for out playing her team, singling out Hamilton and Grace Chaffee for their efforts. Hamilton had a match-high 19 kills while Chaffee tallied 24 assists.

Tyla Cutrie 16 kills led the visitors in defeat with Megan Mayer totalling 22 digs.

Chittenango hung close early in the first game, staying within two at 8-6 before Tully made a run. A kill from Gabby Doody and a Morgan Hiltbrand ace keyed a 6-1 run that extendedthe hosts lead to 147. That advantage would eventually grow to 19-10 before the visitors clawed their way back into the game. Cutrie’s strong hitting led an 11-3 run, capped by an ace fromJackie Kohler that closed the gap to 22-21. Tully scored the next two before Chittenango again pulled within a point at 24-23, prompting a timeout from Black

teamresponded, with Lexi Hamilton recording a kill to clinch the game.

Hamilton looked to start the second game like she closed the first, with a big hit, but Mayer was up to the task on the other side with a dig that landed safely on the other side of the net for the first point. That sparked a 7-1 run for the Bears to start the game, including a kill from Mayer. Hamilton’s serving got Tully back into the game, with the second of her two aces cutting the lead to 8-7. An ace from Mayer helped the Bears push their lead back to four at 1511 but the Black Knights charged back again, scoring four straight to take their first lead at 16-15. A powerful kill by Hamilton gave the hosts their biggest lead at 20-17 but the visitors weren’t done. A 6-1 run gave Simmons’ squad game point at 2422 but Abbott’s crew rallied to take the next three and a 25-24 edge. Mayer evened the score with a kill and the Bears retook the lead on a mishit but errors allowed the Black Knights to take the final three points and the game for a 2- 0 lead in the match.

A back- and- f orth start to the third game saw Chittenango take a 6- 5 on an ace by Alyssa Bates. That, however, would be the Bears’ final lead of the match. Hamilton had a kill to knot the score and capped a 6- 0 run with another to give her team an 11- 6 advantage. The Black Knights extended their lead to 18-10 before the Bears began another comeback attempt. Cutrie had three kills as the visitors scored six straight points to close within two. Hamilton ended the run with a kill but Chittenango scored the next two points to pull within a point before Hamilton tallied another kill. Doody followed with an ace and Hamilton capped Tully’s final two points of the match with kills to close out the 3- 0 victory.

Chittenango will close out its schedule with Cortland at home on Thursday and then head into the Section III Class B tournament.

Simmons said she thinks her squad should be in good shape for the postseason fol lowing what she saw Tuesday night.