Glenn advances to state title match
Glenn's Camryn Ackley gets the dig at the girls volleyball state Class B semifinals. Glenn defeated Hudson Falls in pool play at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York on Nov. 21, 2015. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
The Glenn girls volleyball team will have a shot at its first state title since 2012.
The Knights went 4-2 to finish second in pool play Saturday and earn a date with Owego in the state Class B championship, which will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Glens Falls Civic Center.
Westhill finished third and Hudson Falls was last.
Glenn locked up its championship berth with 25-10 and 25-21 wins over Westhill in the final round of pool play. Both teams entered the round with two wins and two losses.
"This is everything we've been working for all season," Alexis Groark said, "and we just had to bring it."
Westhill led the first game 5-4 but a kill by Grace Cergol and an ace by Cassidy Evans gave Glenn the lead for good.
In the second game, Westhill hung close and forced a tie at 21. Cergol answered with two kills and Glenn closed with a 4-0 run.
"I think at the beginning , we took it for granted because we won 25-10," Cergol said, "but at the end, we realized we really had to step it up because it was 21-21."
Cergol had 33 kills, 26 digs and four aces on the day. Mia Cergol had 44 assists, Camryn Ackley had 36 digs and Groark had 13 kills.
In 25-15 and 25-12 wins over Hudson Falls, Cergol and Groark's hard hitting put the opposition in compromising positions. That was not the case against an Owego team that featured a lot more size in front of the net.
Kim Lavender and Kayla Snyder are listed on the Owego roster at 5-9 and 5-10, respectively, and they repeatedly blocked balls that had gone for Glenn points against Hudson Falls. Glenn led the first game 18-13 but Owego closed on a 12-1 run for a 25-19 win.
Snyder opened the second game with a kill and Madison Delaney-Hammond followed with an ace, but Glenn stayed within five and eventually took a 17-16 lead. Lavender quickly erased that advantage with a kill and then a block for a point, and Owego closed on a 9-0 run to win, 25-17.
The Knights, who have not forgotten about Owego eliminating them in a 2013 semifinal, split a pair of games with the Indians in a tournament this year. Said Grace Cergol, "We know we can beat them."
