By CHRIS BROOKS, wellsvillesports.com
With two tough battles, including Tuesday night’s clash at Houghton Academy, the road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Lady Lions of Wellsville. The battle of undefeateds came to fruition at the home of the Panthers, where a big first set ultimately helped decide which way the balance of power would tilt.
After it was all said and done across extra serves to begin the night, the visitors were able to garner the two extra points in a row needed to capture what would ultimately become a straight-set victory for the Lady Lions, racing ahead towards a 26-24, 25-19, 25-11 win over the Lady Panthers to hand them their first defeat.
Wellsville (4-0) saw a ton of offense develop over the course of time, with strong service from the back line by Lindsay Stuck helping pave the way, as she finished with nine team-high aces to go with three digs and two kills. On the front line, Morgaen Howe (two digs) and Averee Palmatier (three digs) combined to record 10 kills.
Setter Maddy Parks was busy making everything happen at the net, handing out 15 assists to go with two additional aces and a kill.
For Houghton Academy (3-1), Abby Reitnour led the way on defense with nine digs, pairing them with four aces, two kills and two assists.
Wellsville captured the Genesee Valley Tournament title last weekend and also won the Campbell-Savona tournament this season.
Both teams will return to the floor on the road Thursday night, as the Lady Lions travel to Bolivar-Richburg to square off with the host Lady Wolverines in a 7:30 p.m. first serve, while Houghton Academy looks to rebound with a trip down the road to Fillmore at 6 p.m.
Fillmore 3, Hammondsport 0
FILLMORE — After a big straight-set victory over the road at Arkport/Canaseraga 24 hours ago, the Lady Eagles of Fillmore came back home in a quick turnaround and did it all over again on Tuesday with visiting Hammondsport in town, as they started with a dominant first set performance that they continued to build on all throughout, claiming a 25-9, 25-18, 25-8 victory over the Lady Lakers.
Savannah Hosmer charged the Lady Eagles (3-4) strong performance with some big help at the back line, scoring seven service points to pair with three aces and three kills. Setter Bri Santiago chipped in with seven assists at the front of the net to go alongside six service points and four aces of her own.
The Lady Eagles are now off until Thursday night when they return to The Rock in search of their third straight win with crosstown rival Houghton Academy in town for a 6 p.m. first serve.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
BELMONT — Kori Thomas was at the top of her game, while Hannah Mascho helped generate all of the offense at the front of the net, as the pair of Lady Wolverines served as the team’s spark plug in what was a straight-set sweep over the road against host Genesee Valley/Belfast on Tuesday, securing a strong 25-10, 25-15, 25-13 win — their fourth in their first five games.
Thomas captained a big time offensive effort to pave the path ahead for the Lady Wolverines (4-1), recording a game-high 17 kills to pair with seven digs and a block. Carmen Crowley added to the offensive efforts with eight kills of her own, pairing them with six more digs and four aces, while Joey Danaher provided five kills and five aces. The team’s setter, Mascho, finished with 30 assists.
For Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-5), Liliana Porter-Long tallied seven digs and six kills. Setter Cassidy Hand dished out 11 helpers to go with a pair of aces.
“They definitely have a lot of firepower in their hitting and serves, but despite that, I walked away from this game feeling really proud of my team. We really hustled and dug up a lot of their hits to make some plays. But Bolivar-Richburg was unrelenting on their attack hits.” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt.
The Lady Wolverines are back home Thursday night for a colossal 7:30 p.m. first serve against the Lady Lions of Wellsville, while Genesee Valley/Belfast hits the road for a 7:30 p.m. visit of their own to Hinsdale, Friday night.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Hinsdale 0
HINSDALE — From beginning to end, there was no slowing down the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, as they coasted towards their fourth victory in their first five games of the season on Tuesday with a straight-set sweep of the host Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale, scoring the 25-7, 25-11, 25-13 win.
Individual statistics for each team were not made available to report upon publication.
The Lady Rebels (4-1) are back on the floor next Wednesday night back on the road, visiting Wellsville in a 7:30 p.m. first serve. As for Hinsdale (1-5), they host Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday.
