The McGraw girls volleyball team had to survive multiple big momentum swings to reach a decisive fifth set, which the Eagles ultimately lost to Port Byron Monday night at McGraw High School. The match lasted one hour, 48 minutes and featured at least 43 points in each of the first four sets.
There were even two big swings in the first-to-15 fifth set, with Port Byron taking a 7-2 lead, McGraw making it 9-9 and the Panthers taking six of the final nine points to seal the win.
Both teams appeared gassed at points in the final two sets, with services not getting over the net more often than the early stages of the match. McGraw head coach Jessyca Doran knew at that point that it would come down to who wanted it more.
“It was a battle of the minds,” Doran said. “It starts to get to you, especially in the fifth set, and we came up short (Monday).”
Port Byron started the match hot and appeared ready to blow McGraw out of the water. The Panthers got out to a 18-3 lead and won 12 consecutive points and 16 of 17. The Eagles didn’t roll over, going on a hot stretch themselves to make it a 25-18 first set loss.
McGraw answered with another, more manageable comeback in the second. Port Byron got up 10-5, then McGraw won 10 of 12 points to go up 15-12. The Eagles didn’t surrender the lead the rest of the set to win 25-19.
Doran was proud of the way her girls shrugged off a disastrous beginning to even the match at one set apiece.
“They’re a tough team,” Doran said. “They’re mentally strong most of the time. They really work together, they try to bring each other up when one’s having a rough moment. They’re good at being a good teammate to each other, which I think helps on the court.”
McGraw jumped all over Port Byron early in the third, going up 11-4. Port Byron worked its way back to win the set 25-18, then the Eagles nearly coughed up another lead in the fourth before eking out a 25-21 victory to force the winner-take-all fifth. Doran attributed some of the collapses to the pressure the Eagles were under.
“I honestly think their nerves get to them and it gets the best of them because they think they know that they’re going to do and it doesn’t end up like they thought,” Doran said.
Haylee Bassett paced McGraw with eight aces, three kills, a block, eight assists and a dig. Mikenlee Ticknor added three kills, six blocks and two aces, Myranda Murray recorded five digs, two kills and an assist and Remi Stull notched five kills, a block, an ace, a dig and an assist. Emmily Thomas (four digs, one kill, one assist), Morgan Brown (four aces, one dig), Adrianna Stacconi (four digs, one ace) and Emma Marshall (two aces, one dig) also contributed to the Eagles’ effort.
McGraw is now 2-3 and has lost three matches in a row. The Eagles’ first two losses were to Cincinnatus and Fabius-Pompey, last year’s Class D finalists. There was also a 22-day gap between those matches. Doran feels her girls just need to get back in the swing of things, but Monday night’s successes will help the girls get back on track.
“It’s hard to come off a break with no games and the kids are out of routine, then go right into a game and into another one,” Doran said. “It would’ve been nice (to win), but they’ll battle back and hopefully finish the season strong.”
McGraw’s next match is at 7 p.m. today at Tully.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
STOCKBRIDGE VALLEY 3, DERUYTER 2
Chelsey Prince’s 10 kills, three aces, one block and eight digs and Annabelle Stanton’s 22 assists, six digs, one kill and one ace weren’t enough for DeRuyter, as the Rockets fell 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 17-25, 14-16 to Stockbridge Valley.
Molly Amidon added 12 digs, four aces, a kill and three assists for DeRuyter, Graycie Barber notched nine digs, two kills and an ace and Erin Bragg pitched in six digs, four kills and two aces. Selena Rodriguez (four kills, one block), Rebecca Amidon (four aces, one dig), Payton Near (three digs) and Angelena Rodriguez (two kills, one ace, one block) rounded out the Rockets’ effort.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
WESTHILL 53, HOMER 31
Homer got down 17-2 after the first quarter and couldn’t recover. Lauren Franco paced the Trojans’ effort with 13 points, nine of which came in the second half.
Kennadie Taylor followed Franco with seven points, Lizzie McCloy added four points, Anya Gofkowski contributed three points and Izzy Small and Makenna Pym recorded two points apiece for Homer.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Cortland at Westhill, 6:30 p.m. today
Homer at Institute of Technology, 6:30 p.m. today
Marathon at Groton, 6:30 p.m. today
Stockbridge Valley at McGraw, 7 p.m. today
Cincinnatus at Brookfield, 6 p.m. today
Whitney Point at Dryden, 7 p.m. today
DeRuyter at Madison, 7 p.m. today
Odessa-Montour at Moravia, 7 p.m. today
Elmira Notre Dame at Dryden, 7 p.m. Wednesday
Tully at Pulaski, 7 p.m. Wednesday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Chittenango at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. today
Groton at Marathon, 7 p.m. today
Dryden at Whitney Point, 7:15 p.m. today
Tully at Hannibal, 6:30 p.m. today
Moravia at Odessa-Montour, 7:30 p.m. today
New Hartford at Homer, 7 p.m. Wednesday
McGraw at Cincinnatus, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Dryden at Elmira Notre Dame, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday
HOCKEY
Cortland/Homer at CBA, 7 p.m. today at Tsha’Hon’nonyen’dakhwa’
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
McGraw at Tully, 7 p.m. today
Cincinnatus at Port Byron, 7 p.m. Wednesday
BOYS WRESTLING
Cortland at Mexico, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Homer at Chittenango, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Moravia at Marathon, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Groton at Trumansburg, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Dryden at Spencer-Van Etten/Candor, 6 p.m. Wednesday
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Cortland, Homer, Groton, Tully at SUNY Cortland, 6 p.m. Wednesday
BOWLING
A-P-W at Cortland, 3:30 p.m. today at Cort-Lanes
Tioga at Groton, 4 p.m. today at Memory Lanes
BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING
Lansing at Dryden, 4:30 p.m. today
