Archive: Sports

Lansing swept Trumansburg 25-20, 28-26, 25-19 Monday night 10/26.  The win was particularly sweet because the Bobcats had required five sets to overcome Tburg earlier this month.  The two teams are well matched, and all three sets on Monday were hotly contested. 

Lansing trailed through much of the first set, under the false impression that Lansing’s side of the court was smaller and Tburg’s larger than in the Bobcats’ home gym.  Momentum shifted when Nicolo Gentile made a diving save that was followed by blocks by Kristen Beyea and Tory Cutting, who came off the injured reserve with a vengeance.  Breanna Brann then centered a spike neatly into a mid-court gap, creating Lansing’s first two-point lead, 19-17.  Cutting caught Tburg by surprise by returning a free ball with a quick push to the vacant back line, Tara Miller managed a kill off a set from the back row, Gentile added an ace, and Tburg threw in a couple errors to finish the set. 

Tburg started the second set with several quick points, but this time Lansing got in the game sooner with a decisive Miller block followed immediately by another block by Amber Howser, 2-4.  Tburg kept the pressure on, finding weaknesses in Lansing’s back line, 5-9.  However, Lansing gave more than they got, racking up the next nine points, 14-9.  These included Brann’s kill down the left line, Miller’s kill through a block, a Howser ace, and several powerful hits by Cutting, yielding another kill.  Trumansburg fought back to tie the set at 16-16.  From there, both teams nimbly kept the ball in play.  Sunah Bong, Gentile, and Kari Fenner coped with Trumansburg’s attacks, and Lansing regained a four-point lead 23-19.  This prompted an effective Tburg time-out that was followed by four successive Tburg points, 23-23.  Another Tburg point was negated by a Howser kill, 24-24, a Tburg block gave Cutting some of her own medicine, but it was countered by Brann nailing another kill to the back corner, 25-25.  The teams traded service errors, 26-26, Tburg spiked into the net, and Beyea delivered the final kill, 28-26.

Neither team achieved many clean kills in the third set.  The defense was too good.  Again and again, the scrappy blue and white teams hustled to crowd-pleasing rescues, such as a one-armed save by Nicole Washburn, only to find the ball coming right back at them.  Point by point, however, the Bobcats’ relentless barrage accumulated Tburg errors.  Lansing created and held a three- to five-point advantage.  Bong contributed two service points, including an ace, while Gentile and Howser threw in their second aces.  Kills were delivered by Beyea, Gentile, Howser, and the match point by Miller. 

Fenner had 11 assists, as well as 16 attacks, and Taylor Bandler four assists.  Seniors Beyea, Fenner, Gentile, and Bandler all served 100%.  Gentile led in digs, followed by Bong with 16, Fenner with 15, Bandler with six, and Gain, Beyea, and Howser with five each.  Cutting, Brann, and Miller led in kills, followed by Beyea and Gentile.

The IAC Varsity championship is scheduled for Saturday October 31 in Horseheads.

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