The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Canastota takes home Section III banner
Falls to Vooheesville in regionals
The Raider boys lost in four sets in Regionals against undefeated Voohreesville Blackbirds.
During a summer volleyball league in Canastota, a group of Raider boys volleyball players shared their expectations with coaches Shea Sgroi and Marcia Laidlaw: they were going to win the Central Counties League; they were going to win a sectional title, and they were going undefeated.
Following a win on Thursday, they are a single game away from accomplishing that mission.
Canastota took three straight sets - 2513, 25-15, 25-14 - from Sauquoit Valley to claim the Section III Class C crown and move to 18-0 on the year.
“An undefeated season really just came about because of their hard work,” Sgroi said. “It’s been enjoyable to watch them. They work hard. Our practices have been intense this year, but mostly because they had a goal and were on a mission.”
Ian Torkelson was at the forefront of the Raider attack, blasting a game-high 20 kills to go with a team-high 14 digs. Teammates Nathan Arria and Sam Snow fol-
lowed with five kills each.
“Anywhere you set it, there is someone ready to put it down,” Torkelson said of the Canastota offense.
Sam Cesario - the Raider’s 1,000-plus assist setter - coordinated the Canastota attack, tossing out 17 assists.
“My sets were on. Ethan’s [Findlay] sets were on. Hits were on. Everything just worked a lot better,” Cesario added of his team’s performance.
Canastota struck first in the opening set when Cesario set Torkelson for a kill. Torkelson followed with an ace and the Raiders were off and running. Later in the first set, Cesario and Torkelson linked up again for back-to-back points for a 20-8 Raider advantage. Torkelson and Nate Arria posted a combo block for Canastota’s two points later for a 22-8 lead. Sauquoit capitalized on a couple of Canastota violations to bring its total to 12, but Findlay and Snow came up a dual block to close the first 25-12.
In the second, Snow posted four consecutive Canastota points, alternating blocks with kills to help the Raiders out to an 18-6 lead.
“It’s a great having a 6’4” monster in the middle,” Torkelson said of Snow. “It’s his first year and it’s crazy how much of an impact he had on the team this year.”
Sauquoit Valley responded by outscoring Ca- nastota 7-5 during the next few minutes of action, but a Torkelson kill put the Raiders up 24-14. Sauquoit pushed its total to 15 after a trio of Raiders watched a ball land in between them; however Sauquoit sent its next a serve into the net, handing the Raiders a 2515 win.
The Raiders continued to control the contest in the third, racing out to a 21-9 advantage, capped by a Snow kill. The two sides traded shots into the net before Torkelson got Canastota back on track with a kill, bringing the Raiders within a point of an undefeated sectional championship run at 24-14. Once again, Sauquoit Valley sent a serve into the net for match point, bringing the Canastota crowd to its feet in celebration.
“I would not trade going to Canastota for anything. We just took it game by game, never looked two steps ahead, and it paid off in the end,” Findlay said of his team’s 18-0 run.
Waiting for Canastota in the Class C regional round of playoffs is Section II representative Voorheesville. Like their Section III counterpart, Voorheesville is also 18-0 on the year, something the Raiders are well aware of.
“Voohriesville is 180, and we are 18-0,” Cesario said. Of whether or not there is any pressure to close out 19- 0, the senior setter was quick to respond. “I don’t think about it anymore. I go into every game just as afraid as any other,” he said with a grin.
“Voohriesville is pretty good, but we definitely just want to play well and perform the way we have been all year,” Arria said. “We’d like to go undefeated; that was our goal at the beginning of the year.”
Findlay, an 8th grader the last time Canastota advanced as far as regionals, added, “This time around, we have to take it more seriously. The chemistry is there for this team now, and we are ready to fly through.”
Saturday Regional Recap
It was a battle of two undefeated teams in the Class C boys volleyball regional playoff on Saturday.
The Canastota Raiders, representing Section III, entered Saturday at 18- 0 overall.
The i r opponent s , Voohreesville Blackbirds, representing Section II, also entered Saturday’s regional contest with an 18-0 record.
Though they rallied to force a fourth set after falling behind 2-0, Shea Sgroi’s Raiders were unable to pull off the comeback, falling to the Blackbirds, 15-25, 21-25, 25-23, 19-25.
Voohreesville was able to capture the first despite trailing early on. Canastota opened on a 6-2 run, capped by a Nate Arria kill. The Section II champions came back to grab a 10-8 lead on an Alex Sleasman kill before pushing the lead out to 18-12 on consecutive kills from Spencer Sundeen. Following a Canastota timeout, Voohreesville closed the first on a 7-3 run, Justin King rocketing an ace through the Raider defense for a 25-15 win.
Voohreesvi l le never trailed in the second, but the Raiders did not make it easy for the Blackbirds. Canastota was able tie it up at 11-11 and again at 20-20 on a Sam Snow kill. Voohreesville would not be denied however, closing out the second 25-21 on a block by Sundeen.
Canastota gave Raider fans a reason to celebrate in the third set, avoiding the sweep with a 25-23 win.
The Raiders carried that momentum over to the fourth. Jumping out to a 15-8 advantage on another Snow kill. Voohreesville cut the deficit to 1511 on a kill by Sundeen. Moments later, Sundeen ran off three straight for the Blackbirds smacking a kill, coming up with a big block at the net, and sending home another kill to bring Vohreesville within a point at 16-15. The Section II completed its comeback to capture the fourth set and the game, handing the Raiders their first loss on the season in the final game of play.