Lady Rebels remain scorched behind furious start, strong 2nd half defense to keep C-G at bay in season-series sweeping 2-1 victory, move to 7-0-1 on campaign
Photos and stories by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
CANISTEO — There is a very real possibility that after being elevated up to the higher of the two C classes in Section V this season, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford could meet another one of their longtime hyphenated rivals in the Lady Chargers of Canisteo-Greenwood, in the big dance just a few short weeks from now.
The two foes already met once this season back in Cuba in the Championship game of the Tri-County Tournament — a game of momentous stature, with the Lady Rebels proceeding to claim their season-opening grand prize in front of their home crowd. Since that game, the Lady Chargers have not lost, having rattled off the next six wins in a row, including some rugged victories over Arkport-Canaseraga, Alfred-Almond and Campbell-Savona.
Thursday night in the Canisteo Valley, the first of two mammoth reservations were made for the dinner table. Against the Lady Chargers, it was the last for this regular season.
How about another Gladiator-esque battle in the Coliseum?
With State Finalist Fillmore waiting on the other side this weekend, the hope for Cuba-Rushford was to make a giant leap forward at a domicile they haven’t come away victorious in during head coach Aaron Wight’s tenure with the program.
That changed. Rapidly.
Another physical battle was in high demand between the two storied rivals, and through it all, the Lady Rebels were provided an opportunity to make their immediate impact against the Lady Chargers. Just past the 10-minute mark of the opening half, they proceeded to do just that, setting the tone with two quick goals in a five-minute span to claim the upperhand.
From that point onward, the remainder of battle rested solely on the shoulders of their defense, with Canisteo-Greenwood remaining within striking distance following their deficit-cutting score right before the end of the half. There was plenty of bending all throughout, but the Lady Rebels never broke one bit, as they sustained all the pressure the Lady Chargers tried to give them in the last 40 minutes, withstanding the test of time to march forward and capture a season-series sweeping 2-1 victory to remain undefeated in regulation play.
“This was a big step for us today,” said Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight. “We’ve never beaten them at their place since I started coaching here. That’s credit to coach (Collin) Button, they are always tough regardless of how many kids they have graduated or how young they are. He has them playing great soccer. This was a pretty physical game and neither team really had a lot of good chances. I was happy with how we battled and handled their pressure, especially late in the game. We couldn’t ask for a better start to the game, but if anything, we need to do a better job of keeping the gas down in these types of situations.”
Right before crossing the 10-minute threshold in the first half, the Lady Rebels (7-0-1) supercharged their engines and ran off quickly, using their fury to provide the game’s first crack in the ice off a penalty inside the Canisteo-Greenwood box. At the 32:06 mark, Cloey Larabee was nominated to take care of business on the penalty kick, knocking it right home to the lower right-hand corner of the Lady Chargers cage to claim the 1-0 lead.
Canisteo-Greenwood was poised to tie the game up on the rush after the goal as a rocket appeared going in the upper left corner. But C-R goalie Annaleece Melton leaped and made a diving save to save the goal. With Melton scrambling to her feet and the ball near the goal line, Karleigh Truax was able to calmly send across the goal mouth to freshman Lily Tompkins who cleared it, denying another shot.
Cuba-Rushford built off the moment just five minutes later behind the guidance of Aubrey Williams, who grabbed ahold of possession herself after Larabee threw the ball back into play from the far sidelines, using some nifty finesse to shed a trio of Lady Chargers defenders before ripping a shot from range right upstairs to the top shelf to double their advantage.
Despite falling behind the eight-ball early on, Canisteo-Greenwood (6-2) remained composed and sanguine to cut their deficit down the middle at the 15-minute mark, as Lyla Greenfield collected a long pass from Kadyn Pilero at midfield alongside a pair of Cuba-Rushford defenders next to the near sideline.
With it, she made a slight turn to the inside before ripping a shot that squirmed right through the grasp of Annaleece Melton in goal and into the far side of the cage to make it 2-1.
The score would never see another increase on the board across the last 40 minutes of play, but despite that, there were plenty of opportunities to go around to try and turn the game up another level, beginning with a dynamic chance for Haydn Jones right off the rip, five minutes in.
Off of her direct kick into the Lady Chargers zone, it airmailed directly onto the lap of Larabee on the run, but a second touch on the ball could not be provided to finish off the play.
Cuba-Rushford kept knocking loudly at the front door with Molly Kunz leading the very next rush back into the Canisteo-Greenwood zone, lifting a pass back up to Larabee, who then shifted a remarkable pass over to the opposite side of the net where Williams nearly met the ball with a trap into the net to extend their lead back out to two again.
On the opposite end of the field, Melton came away with two gigantic saves on back-to-back looks at the cage for the Lady Chargers, with her first coming off a direct kick blistered by Pilero, meeting the shot with two big mitts to smack it away.
On the next opportunity, Melton regained her composure and delivered another phenomenal sequence, leaping up to touch some air and make another unbelievable save on a second attempt to tie the game.
Because of those two colossal saves down the stretch, the Lady Rebels were able to hold the fort down on defense the remainder of the way to finish off their season-series sweep of Canisteo-Greenwood in style, remaining undefeated in the same swing to carry a bounty of momentum into the weekend.
Melton would make 10 saves out of 11 shots faced for the Lady Rebels to score the win. As for the Lady Chargers, McKenna Ferris went on to make five saves out of the seven shots applied on net.
Saturday night, Cuba-Rushford will get back on the bus and now head up north to visit the 7-0 Fillmore Lady Eagles for a Homecoming battle of epic proportions, as the battle for Allegany County supremacy will be set to begin at 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the boys contest, which is set to begin at 5 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Wellsville 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
WELLSVILLE — From the very beginning of the night, the Lady Lions of Wellsville made their presence known back on their home floor, as they strolled their way towards a straight-set sweep of visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast on Thursday with a 25-10, 25-17, 25-6 win.
It was a balanced effort across the board with multiple Lady Lions (5-3) getting involved to make big things happen, with Natalie Adams and Makenna Dunbar both leading the attack with five kills each.
Along the way, Adams chipped in five aces from the back line, while Dunbar denied a shot at the net. Mia Wyant recorded five assists and handed out five assists, while Brooklyn Dahlgren rounded off with three aces, one kill and one dig.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-5) was paced by a three-kill, two-dig effort from Paizlee Tilton. Emalee Carman dished out seven assists and tallied three service points along the way. The team returns to action Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. visit to Arkport-Canaseraga.
Following tournament action in Lyons on Saturday, the Lady Lions will spring back to the floor on Wednesday over the road themselves, visiting the Fillmore Lady Eagles in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Cuba-Rushford 0
BOLIVAR — It was not an easy task to undertake, but the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford made undefeated Bolivar-Richburg earn every single point they collected.
But on Thursday, the Lady Wolverines were able to work their way around the blockade their opposition supplied across all three sets of play, as they remained undefeated with their sixth consecutive victory, claiming the 25-23, 25-21, 27-25 win on their home floor.
Kylee Whiting provided an outstanding showing to lead the Bolivar-Richburg (6-0) offense, as she picked up a team-leading 10 kills to pair with eight digs to keep the ball off the floor, along with six aces. Carmen Crowley chipped in nine more kills to go with seven digs, while Jayna Thomas had 10 digs. Hannah Mascho also had five aces out of 21 serves total to add into the fray.
Cuba-Rushford (4-4) was paced by a five-kill, two ace game conducted by Kate Radomski on offense. Lilah Stroud chipped in with three more kills to pair with a couple of blocks, while setter Kendall Tompkins handed out eight helpers, adding three aces into the mix along the way.
Both teams will return to the floor Monday night in a pair of 6:30 p.m. first serves, with Bolivar-Richburg going for seven straight wins with a visit from Olean in store, while Cuba-Rushford hits the road for a visit to Allegany-Limestone.
Houghton Academy 3, Andover/Whitesville 0
ANDOVER — The Lady Panthers of Houghton Academy put on a solid show over the road at Andover/Whitesville on Thursday, as they brought the fire in the first set and never looked back to record a straight-set sweep by a 25-11, 25-16, 25-7 count to return to .500 on the campaign.
Leading the charge for the Lady Panthers (3-3) was Julia Winkens, who served as a double threat on offense, posting six kills along with six aces. Katherine Lin had eight more aces and two kills to chip in.
Statistics for Andover/Whitesville (0-8) were not made available to report upon publication. The team will now prepare for a 6 p.m. road trip to Hammondsport on Tuesday.
Houghton Academy will take on those same Lady Lakers of Hammondsport first over the road tonight, in a 7 p.m. first serve of their own.
Salamanca at Hinsdale – No report.
GIRLS TENNIS
Lady Lions sweep home twinbill with Canisteo-Greenwood
WELLSVILLE — Although the weather has been up and down the last several days, Thursday night was a good night for the Wellsville Lady Lions to pick up where they left off on the tennis court, as they hosted a pair of matches with visiting Canisteo-Greenwood and swept them both, claiming all 10 wins for themselves.
Hanna Miles and Peyton Cawley each scored a pair of victories to help lead the way for the Lady Lions (8-1), with Miles posting two 8-0 victories in first and second singles action, while Cawley scored a third singles forfeit win in match one, while scoring an 8-0 win at second singles in match two.
Samantha Bidzerkowny scored a first match first singles win by an 8-0 count, while Jaiden Edwards was credited with a third singles win in the second match.
Adding more wins were the first doubles team of Caitlin Bittel and Sarah Mattison, as they navigated towards triumphs of 8-0 and 8-2. At second doubles, the teams of Shayla Cowan and Lexi Brownell, along with McKenna Wonderling and Madigan Murphy each scored wins of 8-3 and 8-2, respectively to close out another strong performance.
The complete list of matches that took place on Thursday are available for viewing down below.
The Lady Lions have a quick turnaround this evening over the road, visiting Avoca-Prattsburgh at 5 p.m.
Match 1
Singles
1. Samantha Bidzerkowny (WLSV) def. Ali Jackson (C-G), 8-0.
2. Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Paige Ancor (C-G), 8-0.
3. Peyton Cawley (WLSV) by for.
Doubles
1. Caitlin Bittel/Sarah Mattison (WLSV) def. Joelle Minch/Madison Smith (C-G), 8-0.
2. Shayla Cowan/Lexi Brownell (WLSV) def. Maeleigh Hosmer/Alexandra Farkas (C-G), 8-3.
Match 2
Singles
1. Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Ali Jackson (C-G), 8-0.
2. Peyton Cawley (WLSV) def. Paige Ancor (C-G), 8-0.
3. Jaiden Edwards (WLSV) by for.
Doubles
1. Caitlin Bittel/Sarah Mattison (WLSV) def. Joelle Minch/Madison Smith (C-G), 8-2.
2. McKenna Wonderling/Madigan Murphy (WLSV) def. Maeleigh Hosmer/Alexandra Farkas (C-G), 8-2.
