Wednesday Roundup: Explosive start, resilient 2nd set sets up straight-set sweep for Lady Rebels over Olean; Lady Lions soccer falls to Letchworth in OT at Way-Co’s Craig Lawrence Tourney

CUBA — After a straight-set loss to the hands of Section VI powerhouse Allegany-Limestone to begin the season, the opportunity to turn the tables on another foe from the west was upon the horizon for the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, Wednesday night.

With the Lady Huskies of Olean in town to visit the Wighthouse, the Lady Rebels would build a phenomenal start against their opposition, using a lengthy first serve momentum builder to pair with an array of magnificent service to get the party started.

Although Olean flipped the script later on in the night, the hosts in blue remained resilient and put their poise and patience on full display to erase a massive second set deficit in favor of what would wind up being a straight-set victory to close out the evening, as the Lady Rebels strolled towards a 25-16, 25-23, 25-16 first win of the season.

“It was a really good bounce back for us,” said Lady Rebels coach Josh Tompkins. “After losing to Allegany-Limestone, it was great to come out and play a solid and well-executed match against Olean. It was a great experience for us to have, and the environment for the game was great. I’m looking forward to playing Bolivar-Richburg to open up League play this weekend.”

To open up festivities, the Lady Rebels (1-1) were red hot, as they used a combination of phenomenal service from Kendall Tompkins, Jessica Ringelberg and Lilah Stroud to aid in fueling eight of the first 10 points against Olean. The momentum furthered on towards the late stages of the set where Cuba-Rushford would scavenge a lead by as much as 10 at one point to help shut the door.

The Lady Huskies remained on their toes however, as they fired right back with a response of their own to chip away at their deficit and apply pressure in return to the hosts. But the Lady Rebels would keep a hold of their firm first set lead to take the match’s opening advantage.

In the next set however, the tables were turned, as Olean recorded six straight points out of the gate, using it to capture an eight-point lead themselves. Despite falling behind, the Lady Rebels emerged with resilience and poise to re-flip the tables back into their direction once and for all, maintaining all momentum from that point on with a 15-6 run following a 10-2 Olean lead to force what would be a victorious back-and-forth finish to claim a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Rebels went on to finish off the match victory with a dominant third set finish to record the sweep.

Leading the way for the hosts was Lauren O’Keefe, who recorded seven kills, five digs and two aces. Lilah Stroud followed with four kills of her own to pair with a pair of blocks. Jessica Ringelberg had six digs to go with three additional kills and an ace, while setter Kendall Tompkins handed out 17 assists to couple alongside seven digs, four aces and a trio of kills.

Cuba-Rushford is back on the floor Friday night with their first road trip of the campaign, visiting Bolivar-Richburg in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.

Avoca/Prattsburgh 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

PRATTSBURGH — Despite a tough challenge presented by visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast, the Lady Titans of Avoca/Prattsburgh were able to garner a big home win to help open up their season on Wednesday, as they brought out the brooms to collect a 25-17, 25-13, 25-18 victory in Prattsburgh.

Helping lead the way for Genesee Valley/Belfast (0-1) on the attack was Kendra Bigelow, as she posted five kills and five aces from the service line. Following up was Lilianna Porter-Long, who tallied four kills and one block at the front of the net, while setter Cassidy Hand dished out nine helpers up on the front line to pair with four aces.

“I saw a lot of good things out of the team tonight,” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt. “But there are lots of things where we know we need to get some work done. Some new faces really stepped up their game, and have shown some great improvement. I’m excited to see where this team is heading as the season goes on, as it continues to gel and grow.”

Genesee Valley/Belfast returns to action on Friday for their first home match of the campaign, as they welcome in the Lady Panthers of Houghton Academy for a 7:30 p.m. first serve in the Jungle.

Bolivar-Richburg at Canisteo-Greenwood - No report.

BOYS SOCCER

Fillmore 7, Cuba-Rushford 0

HINSDALE — With a big season-opening victory on their home turf just 24 hours ago, the defending Class D State Champions took aim at continuing their hot start over the road to Hinsdale to meet Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale on Wednesday.

After seeing a bounty of Eagles find the back of the net, the night this time would belong to Layton Sanasith on the attack, as the senior posted four of the team’s seven markers — three of them coming in the first half to complete the early hat trick, allowing the visitors in white and green to cement their lead over the Rebels in strong fashion to move to 2-0 with a 7-0 road shutout.

The scoring for Fillmore (2-0) started fast and furiously in the first 10 minutes of the opening frame, as Sanasith connected with his first marker off a helper dished along by Jack Cool. The next three plays for the Eagles were all set up by the foot of Eben Schilke, who helped lay the foundation down on his four-assist night with a connection to Henry Sardina at the 23:09 mark, along with two more to Sanasith in the final 10 minutes to aid in completing his early hat trick in a span of three minutes.

With a firm 4-0 lead at the break, Schilke went on to find the back of the Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale (0-2-1) net himself six minutes removed from the kick at center, as Zach Sisson sent along a helper of his own to branch out the Fillmore lead once more. Sanasith’s fourth goal off of Schilke’s fourth assist from the corner, along with an unassisted marker from Isaiah Sisson helped finish off the scoring for the Eagles.

In all, a 21-4 shot advantage favored the Eagles over the Rebels, with Ryan Vedder making all four stops for the visitors in goal to earn the shutout. On the other side, Alex Baron and Caleb Elliott combined to make 13 saves for Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale, who will now travel to the Brock Young Tournament in Scio to face Bolivar-Richburg in opening round battle tonight at 5 p.m.

As for Fillmore, they now head back home to welcome in the Lions of Wellsville after the upcoming weekend, in a 7 p.m. opening kick on Monday.

GIRLS SOCCER

Craig Lawrence Tourney at Way-Co: Letchworth 3, Wellsville 2 (F-OT)

COHOCTON — Plenty of excitement was in the air all throughout night one of the Craig Lawrence Memorial Tournament at Wayland-Cohocton. Especially during the final first round battle under the lights, where the Lady Lions of Wellsville did battle with Letchworth.

With a halftime deficit to overcome, a position that the Lady Lions have been in before, they went on to do it again in the game’s waning seconds to force overtime. But in the extra session, Letchworth was able to shake off the late Wellsville rally with the golden goal in the late stages of the period to claim a 3-2 victory to advance into Friday’s Championship game.

“We never let down and we never gave up. As a team, we are mentally and physically strong, and it showed tonight,” said Lady Lions coach Erica Aftuck. “It was a tough way for it to end in overtime, but I am proud of every single girl on this team. It’s only game three, but I am thrilled with what I see. Letchworth has two super good and fast attackers, but in the second half, we stepped up our game.”

Charity Scott was the driving force behind Letchworth’s first half lead, as she scored both markers beginning at the 15 minute mark to break the ice, and later with three minutes remaining to branch out the advantage.

Despite being down by a pair, the Lady Lions (1-1-1) ate up all the pressure and rebounded in the biggest of ways in the last 40 minutes with Lauren Viglietta scoring first to cut the deficit in half just past midway. Letchworth would continue to cling onto their slim lead, but with 27 seconds left to go, Alexa Hennessy gave the ball a big boot straight into the net off a direct kick to tie the game at two, forcing overtime in the process.

A midfield battle would ensue and rage on all across overtime. From within it, an opening was created for Letchworth to end the game, as Annetta Owens found the back of the Wellsville cage for the game-winner to clinch a spot in Friday’s Championship game against Mount Morris.

Letchworth narrowly outshot Wellsville by a 20-16 total count, with Madison Thompson staying busy in between the posts for the Lady Lions with 11 saves.

Wellsville will return to the Cohocton Sports Complex on Friday for Consolation round action beginning with a 7 p.m. first kick, as they battle host Wayland-Cohocton.

GIRLS TENNIS

Avoca/Prattsburgh 4, Fillmore 1

PRATTSBURGH — Behind strong performance in a sweep of both doubles matches, along with dominant displays from Camryn Moore and Genevieve Dabby in singles action, the Lady Titans of Avoca/Prattsburgh were able to spark a victory on their home court Wednesday night in Prattsburgh, rolling towards a 4-1 decision.

Both Moore and Dabby led the way for Avoca/Prattsburgh at first and second singles respectively, as each Lady Titan scored a strong 6-0, 6-0 shutout over Fillmore’s Claire Schilke and Molly Mahoney to help set the tone. Down in doubles action, the match was ultimately claimed by the hosts with a sweep in both contests, as the first doubles team of Colleen Hammond and Gracie Cole capitalized on a first-set tiebreak to defeat Kira Morley and Indigo Knapp.

At second doubles, a back-and-forth affair saw Olivia Mullen and Nataley Patoine emerge victorious with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Kirra Bentley and Lena Tucker.

Fillmore’s (0-2) lone win would come courtesy of Spencer Hopkins, who recorded a 6-0, 6-0 shutout herself at third singles, paving the way towards victory over Ginny Savage.

“I’m really proud of the team. We talked a lot about growth and improvement, and we certainly showed that tonight,” said Lady Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “Spencer was awesome at third singles, and the doubles teams played two matches that could have easily swung our way. We have to keep working to get ready for a tough Wellsville team at home this weekend.”

The Lady Eagles head back home to Houghton College to meet Wellsville on Friday at 5 p.m.

Singles

1. Camryn Moore (A/P) def. Claire Schilke (FIL), 6-0, 6-0.

2. Genevieve Dabby (A/P) def. Molly Mahoney (FIL), 6-0, 6-0.

3. Spencer Hopkins (FIL) def. Ginny Savage (A/P), 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles

1. Colleen Hammond/Gracie Cole (A/P) def. Kira Morley/Indigo Knapp (FIL), 7-6 (4), 6-3.

2. Olivia Mullen/Nataley Patoine (A/P) def. Kirra Bentley/Lena Tucker (FIL), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.