Shen, Burnt Hills sweep semifinal matchups
Set to meet in Suburban Council Championship
BURNT HILLS, NY » Burnt Hills facing Shenendehowa for the championship is something that we’ve gotten used to seeing this year. On Thursday, both the Shen and Burnt Hills girls’ volleyball teams swept their semifinal matchups, advancing to the final round which is set for Friday.
“It means a lot to get an opportunity to play for a championship,” said Burnt Hills’ Claire Isaksen. “We’ve worked really hard this season. We didn’t know if we’d even be able to play and now we’re in the championship, which is kind of crazy. It’s crazy that we get an opportunity to even play Shen in a championship.”
SHENENDEHOWA VS NISKAYUNA
On Thursday afternoon, second-seeded Shen (16-2) hosted third-seeded Niskayuna (116). Shen won 3-0, sweeping the match 25-14, 25-15, and 25-17.
“There was a lot of anticipation going into this as we all came together as a team and worked so well together as a well-oiled machine,” said Shen senior Abby
Case. “We’re so excited to move on to the next stage and play longer than we initially expected.”
Case collected six kills and seven blocks in the match, as Shen made it look easy.
“I really think we needed a win like this going into tomorrow,” Case said. “Especially since we lost so brutally to Niskayuna last year, so this was a bit of redemption for us.”
The goal for the Plainsmen coming in was to shut down Niskayuna’s outside hitters - something they will also have to do in order to have any success against Burnt Hills.
“Niskayuna and Burnt Hills are similar because they both have very strong outside hitters and that was a big focus for us coming into the game,” Erika Macken said. “Right away in this game we shut her down immediately and I think that’s really going to boost our confidence going into tomorrow, how effortlessly we did that today.”
Macken contributed with seven service points, 26 assists and eight digs. Rose Talty had seven service points, 13 kills, ten digs and three blocks. Cambrie Adams had eight service points and 14 digs.
Shen is coming off of a close matchup against Schenectady on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, which they won in four sets.
“We made a point of it yesterday at practice to really come together and cheer and be as loud as possible,” Macken said. “We got off to a slow start on Tuesday and I think we saw how much of a difference that made today. We really have to bring that same energy tomorrow.”
BURNT HILLS VS COLUMBIA
The game between the Spartans and Blue Devils started off on a bit of a serious note. Columbia has been without one of their players this week, after dealing with the loss of a parent. After the national anthem played, the Burnt Hills players called Columbia over to meet at midcourt, where they presented the Blue Devils with flowers and a card.
“We just wanted to show that we’re here for them, we’re a community and that they’re in our prayers,” said Burnt Hills senior Claire Isaksen.
“This was a team-idea,” said Spartans head coach, Gary Bynon. “It’s really important that we support our community when they’re going through tough times, that we come together and show we’re thinking about them.”
When the game got started, it was all Burnt Hills (19-0).
The Spartans opened the game with a 14-point run, taking the first set 25-3.
“We were really just trying to play our best we came out really strong in the first set,” Isaksen said.
Columbia (10-4) had picked up some momentum towards the end of the first set and they carried it over to the second - playing much better as the match progressed. It wasn’t enough though as Burnt Hills would win the second set 25-13 and the third set 25-9.