The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Playoffs begin today
Heading into the Thursday’s Section III girls volleyball sectionals, two familiar programs sit atop the Class B seeding: Chittenango and Canastota
Chittenango and Canastota are the only two teams in the bracket with 12-plus wins on the season and are the No. 1 andNo. 2 seeds, respectively.
The 17-win Bears suffered only two defeats all year, both to Class C powerhouse Tully, andwill host a quarterfinal match at home on Thursday.
The Raiders finished the regular season 12-3, good enough for second in the Center State Conference behind MountMarkham. Canastota dropped a match to Tully as well and lost twice to Mount Markham. Like Tully, MountMarkhamwill compete in the Class Cbracket, so the Raiders will not see either of those two opponents. However, Canastota will have a chance to avenge last season’s 3-0 defeat to Vernon-VeronaSherrill in semifinals as the two sides meet Thursday in Canastota at 6 p.m. for a No. 2 vs. No. 7 matchup.
Though the two sides did not meet in the regular season, the Red Devils closed the season with an 8-9 overall record, splitting the regular season series with No. 5 seed Oneida. VVS also split its regular season series with No. 4 seed Central Valley Academy, another Class B Sectional participant, showcasing an ability to compete in a deep tournament bracket.
Oneida finished the season 9-7, good for the No. 5 seed. Having just missed out on a home playoff game, Oneida will travel to Central Valley Academy for a 5:30 p.m. playoff tilt. The contest will serve as the rubber-match for the two sides; Oneida took the first contest betweenthe two sides 3-0, before falling later in the season by a final of 3-2.
Morrisville-Eaton and Stockbridge Valley will represent the area in the Class D bracket.
The Warriors closed the season with a 15-3 record and the Center State Conference III crown. Two of M-E’s losses were to Canastota, one was to Owen D. Young. The No. 2 seed will see neither of those opponents in the quarterfinals. Instead, the Warriors will host Waterville on Thursday.
Stockbridge, at 9-7 on the year, earned the No. 5 seed, and will travel to DeRuyter on Thursday for a shot at revenge. The Cougars split their season series with the No. 4 seed Rockets, each team stealing a win on the road. Both sides finished with 7-1 records atop the Central Counties League, and Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. contest will serve as the rubbermatch.