Voorheesville’s finest girls volleyball season ended one win shy of a state title.
Falconer (Section VI) fended off several Blackbird rallies to defeat Voorheesville 3-1 in Sunday’s Class C final at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Girls Volleyball Championships at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Mistakes haunted the Blackbirds throughout the match, but coach Sandy Vorse said the miscues were the result of Falconer’s aggressiveness.
It wasn’t nerves so much as it was them forcing is into [making] them, said Vorse.
The Blackbirds battled tooth and nail with Falconer in the first game and eventually took a 16-14 lead. But the Falcons scored 11 of the final 17 points to escape with a 25-22 victory.
Voorheesville regained its stride in the second game by forcing Falconer into making several mistakes of its own, as the Blackbirds built a 21-12 lead. The Falcons scored five consecutive points to make it close, but Voorheesville hung on for a 25-20 victory to tie the match at 1.
Falconer took it to Voorheesville early in the third game and had a 14-6 lead at one point before the Blackbirds rallied to tie the match at 15. The Falcons recovered, though, and pulled away to a 25-20 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
`I thought we should have taken the third game,` said Vorse. `We made some mistakes that we don’t normally make.`
Voorheesville made a desperate attempt to stave off elimination in the fourth game, but Falconer went on a 20-9 run to win the set 25-16 and claim the Class C title.
`They came out hitting a lot stronger than they did [in Saturday’s pool play],` said Vorse. `Our serve receive wasn’t what we wanted.`
Rebecca Bablin had seven kills and seven service points to lead Voorheesville, while Ellie Wagner contributed 23 digs and five service points.
It was Voorheesville’s first appearance in the state final. The Blackbirds didn’t get out of pool play when they made their first trip to the state tournament in 2007.
`I remember not too long ago when our goal was to get to .500,` said Vorse. `Now, we’ve made it to the state finals. The girls have a lot to be proud about.`
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk couldn’t get out of pool play at the state tournament for the third straight year. The Indians finished with an 0-6 mark in a loaded Class B pool that included Buffalo-area power Eden, Section I’s Hendrick Hudson and Long Island champion John Glenn of East Northport.
On the boys’ side, Bethlehem’s trip to the state Division I tournament at Cicero-North Syracuse ended with a 1-5 record in pool play. McQuaid (Section V) and Half Hollow Hills (Long Island) swept the Eagles, while Cicero-North Syracuse split its two games with Bethlehem.“