Four days after wrapping up the Section 2 Class C title, the Broadalbin-Perth Lady Patriots volleyball team hasn’t stopped winning. Wednesday night they defeated Ogdensburg Free Academy 25-12, 25-6, 25-14 at Saratoga Springs High School.
“I thought we did alright for not knowing what to expect,” said Broadalbin-Perth coach Mike Calvello. “It’s hard to get going when you’re not looking at a conventional offense. We got out to a big lead.”
Calvello and his team came in knowing very little about the Lady Blue Devils out of Section 10. BPHS picked up where they left off Saturday by taking an early lead in the first game behind the serve of senior Keyana Fariello and the powerful hitting of senior Chelsea LeBlanc and junior Megan Ryder. A kill by LeBlanc put BPHS up 8-3. The senior leader then served up a couple of points for a 10-3 lead. A pair of kills by Zoe Simonson and two more points off LeBlanc’s serve and the Lady Patriots had a commanding 15-3 lead before Ogdensburg forced a side out. A kill by Lauren Adamchick made it 16-4 in favor of BPHS. OFA’s Sky Hoover recorded a kill and a point from her serve before Simonson put an end to the rally. With BPHS leading 19-8, Fariello stepped to the servers line once again, and combined with some accurate passing, set up LeBlanc and Ryder for kills. OFA’s Jennie Dalton recorded a kill and served up a point for 22-10, but LeBlanc’s third kill of the game ended the rally and her fourth kill down the middle of the court ended game one.
“We weren’t talking that much in the first game,” said Lady Patriots junior Megan Ryder. “We had to talk more and get louder. After the first set we picked up on how they hit.”
The Lady Patriots started game two the same way they finished game one. A kill by Simonson, her first of seven in the second set gave BPHS a lead it would not relinquish. Simonson finished the match with a team high 13 kills. The lead grew to 3-0 behind Jordan Marshall’s serve before OFA’s Kelsie Donaldson came up with a kill. A block by Donaldson later made it 4-2 before Simonson’s next kill. Sky Hoover cut the lead to 6-3, but Simonson responded again. The Lady Patriots behind the serving of Gabby Smith and Simonson’s right hand pulled out to a commanding 20-4 lead. Only a kill by OFA’s Chelsey Raven stopped the rally before Fariello stepped to the service line again for a string of points ending game two. However, the Lady Blue Devils were not about to go quietly in game three.
Jennie Dalton’s kill early in game three gave the Lady Blue Devils their only tie of the match at 1-1. Early in the deciding game however, OFA took advantage of missed service opportunities by BPHS and cut into the lead. A kill by senior captain Hoover and an ace by Taylor Perry pulled OFA to within two at 7-5.
“Our service was o-kay not great,” said Coach Calvello. “We have to work on that.”
Marshall and Simonson kept the Lady Patriots one step in front with kills and BPHS led 12-10. OFA would get no closer however as the efficient passing of the Lady Patriots moved the scoring around with LeBlanc, Simonson, Ryder, and Adamchick collecting hits. Perry replied with a pair of points for OFA cutting the lead to 20-14, but Gabby Smith, who finished the match with a team high 32 assists took matters into her own hands and served up the final points of the match.
“We got into a little lull,”said Coach Calvello. “We tend to take a while to adjust to teams that aren’t conventional. We relax a little and we can’t do that. We have to stay on top.”
Ogdensburg Free Academy was led by Sky Hoover’s five kills. Taylor Perry had three service points and two kills. Chelsey Raven had two points. Jennie Dalton and Kelsie Donaldson each had two kills.
Gabby Smith added 12 points to go along with her 32 assists for Broadalbin-Perth. Keyana Fariello had eight digs. Megan Ryder served up two aces with her seven points and six kills. Lauren Adamchick also had six kills. Zoe Simonson finished with eight points and a pair of aces, and Jordan Marshall recorded two blocks, six digs, and four kills for the Lady Patriots.
“I think we all wanted it and wanted to get the first regional win for Mr. C and our team,” said Marshall. “
Broadalbin-Perth advances to play Section 7 champion Ausable Valley High School on Saturday at Saranac Central School. Game time is 4pm.
“I think they’re a pretty good team,” said Marshall on BPHS’ next opponent.. “They have a tall setter. We are prepared for it.”
The Lady Patriots played Ausable Valley in a tournament earlier this year. BPHS won both games 25-14, 25-11.
“That was a month ago,” said Coach Calvello. “I’m sure they’re a different team from a month ago. We’re going to have to play. We will practice hard this week and we’ll be ready.”
Foothills Council names 2014 All Stars
Six players from the Broadalbin-Perth Lady Patriots volleyball team made the 2014 Foothills Council All Star squad.
Chelsea LeBlanc, Zoe Simonson and Megan Ryder were named to the first team. Jordan Marshall, Gabby Smith and Keyanna Fariello made the second team.
Also making the second team were Amsterdam’s sophomore Cinderea Chrzanowski and senior Destinee Smith. The Lady Rams’ senior Brittanie Brown and sophomore Maria Lomanto were named honorable mentions.
Johnstown’s Annie Stock was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
