Thursday Roundup: Wellsville volleyball celebrates Senior Night by scoring straight-set sweep of GV/Belfast; GV/Belfast girls hand And/Whi 1st loss, Lady Lions edge out C-G behind Dunbar’s 25
WELLSVILLE — One night removed from a successful Senior Night for the Wellsville wrestling team, it was the boys volleyball team’s turn to send their seven seniors out swinging on Thursday, as the Lion’s Den honored Terrence Benz, Lucius Griggs, Carter Newman, Evan Billings, Keenen O’Connor, Nolan Kozlowski and Kam Dodge.
After the celebration, it was game-time against Genesee Valley/Belfast, where the Seniors received the full-go from head coach Adam Kellogg for the night’s opening set in what was an early back-and-forth trade of points.
That was all before three straight aces from O’Connor at the service line allowed them to pull away for victory.
The first set ultimately served as the night’s defining moment for the Lions, as they proceeded to send their Seniors out with a bang in straight-set sweeping fashion, scoring the 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 victory in front of their families and their home cheering section.
The Lions (5-2) were paced by Lucius Griggs, who was outstanding from the service line, posting a team-leading seven aces to go with three kills and a denial at the front of the net. O’Connor finished with four aces to pair with two digs, while Carter Newman rounded off with two assists, one kill, one ace and a block.
For Genesee Valley/Belfast (0-8) on the opposite side of the floor, Lawson Ector powered the offense with six kills, four aces and a quartet of blocks. Setter Noah Miller aided in setting the offense up behind 12 assists, coupling them alongside four kills and a pair of aces from the back line.
Both teams will now get set for Mid-Season Tournament action beginning bright and early at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in Belmont.
Arkport-Canaseraga 3, Bolivar-Richburg 1
ARKPORT — Despite visiting Bolivar-Richburg avoiding the straight-set with a strong third set rebound, the Wolves of Arkport-Canaseraga managed to provide a big bounce back of their own, as they closed out the night with a dominant end to the match to record the four-set victory over the Wolverines by a 25-16, 25-21, 13-25, 25-12 count in Arkport on Thursday.
The Wolves, now winners in six of their first seven games, were set up for success by Drew Glover on the attack, as he posted a team-high eight kills to pair with three aces and a block. Aydan Button chipped in with six kills and five aces, while Cameron Kernan helped round off the efforts with two additional kills and an ace.
On the opposite side of the net, the Wolverines (2-6) were led by Ayden Music and his seven kills, three blocks and two aces. Conner Blankenship added more fuel to the fire on the attack with four kills of his own, adding two blocks and two aces along the way. Setter Owen Unfus handed out 13 assists to go with two kills and a block.
Both teams will head for Genesee Valley to partake in the annual Mid-Season Tournament beginning Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Genesee Valley/Belfast 35, Andover/Whitesville 25
WHITESVILLE — From within their five-game win streak, one of those games for the Andover/Whitesville ladies stemmed against Genesee Valley/Belfast in the Belmont Rotary Club Tournament for this year’s championship. It was a battle that, behind their defensive efforts, they were able to capture behind a 43-29 victory just over a month ago.
Now in the first full week of January, the two teams met again, this time in Whitesville where Genesee Valley/Belfast looked to even the playing ground, while Andover/Whitesville looked to maintain their perfect start to the campaign.
The points between both teams were difficult to come by throughout the course of battle, but the propelling of a late first quarter surge into the end of the first half ultimately served as the difference maker, as Genesee Valley/Belfast scored a lead as large as two possessions and built upon it later on in the second half to officially hand Andover/Whitesville their very first defeat with a 35-25 road victory.
Both teams served up a relatively quick start to begin the contest, with OIivia Waters cashing in on a rapid three-point play in the early seconds for Andover/Whitesville before Jenna Hill came right back and responded with a shot clock-beating triple just moments later for Genesee Valley/Belfast (6-4). Some back-and-forth barbs were bagged by the two clubs in the last minute of the quarter, but the visitors in black garnered some separation off a long triple from Sophie Zillgitt before the hosts followed up with an inside basket to close the gap to 10-7.
In the second quarter, Genesee Valley/Belfast carried their momentum forward following a prior 7-5 lead of Andover/Whitesville (5-1), establishing a run that saw them net seven of the next nine points to create an advantage that eclipsed at most, seven points. With an 18-12 lead well within their possession going into the break, Genesee Valley/Belfast would then look to their defense to keep their advantage fortified.
Despite Andover/Whitesville chipping the deficit down to a pair of points late in the third quarter, the visitors went on another strong run in the last two minutes to close out the frame, scoring eight of the last 10 points to ensure their victory in the long run to hand their opposition their first loss of the campaign.
Genesee Valley/Belfast was led by Bayleigh Tallman and her game-high 10 points. Jenna Hill followed right behind with nine points of her own, while Sophie Zillgitt concluded with eight points. For Andover/Whitesville, Graci Lewis-Ellison bucketed a team-high nine points. Stella Bledsoe and Olivia Waters each had five points.
Both teams are back on the hardwood Monday night, with Genesee Valley/Belfast heading back home to the Jungle in Belmont to host Addison in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, while Andover/Whitesville looks to find their winning edge once again on the road with a 6 p.m. visit to Campbell-Savona.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 10 8 11 6 – 35
Andover/Whitesville 7 5 9 4 – 25
GV/BELFAST: Bayleigh Tallman 5 0-0 10, Sophie Zillgitt 1 5-6 8, Whitney Young 1 0-0 2, Addisyn Ely 0 2-2 2, Kate Calanni 0 0-2 0, Ava Aronson 2 0-2 4, Jenna Hill 4 0-0 9. Totals: 13 7-12 35.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Makenna Vance 1 2-2 4, Stella Bledsoe 2 0-1 5, Graci Lewis-Ellison 3 2-4 9, Lilly Harrington 1 0-0 2, Olivia Waters 2 1-3 5. Totals: 9 5-10 25.
3-point goals: GVB 2 (Zillgitt, Hill), A/W 2 (Bledsoe, Lewis-Ellison).
Total Fouls: GVB 13, A/W 11. Fouled out: None.
Wellsville 46, Canisteo-Greenwood 41
CANISTEO — It was a game that was closer than close from start to finish, as both Wellsville and Canisteo-Greenwood each traded jabs across all four quarters. The Lady Lions provided the first while the Lady Chargers had the last to put the pressure on late in the final eight minutes in the Canisteo Valley.
But through it all, there was one constant that remained undeterred: Makenna Dunbar.
Despite being limited from the field by the Lady Chargers defense, the Lady Lions senior had no problem making up the lost ground by coming in absolutely clutch at the charity stripe, as she finished a whopping 14-for-18 at the line — an outing that also including a barbaric 7-for-10 stretch in the fourth quarter to aid Wellsville in holding off Canisteo-Greenwood to collect their ninth victory in 10 games with a 46-41 decision on Thursday.
The Lady Lions (9-1) were off and running almost immediately behind the guidance of Dunbar in the first eight minutes of play, as she delivered a 10-point punch out of the 16 they recorded as a collective unit in the game, while the defense in transition kept the Lady Chargers at bay to close the book on what was a 16-8 advantage.
Canisteo-Greenwood (7-3) fought back to close out the half in the following frame, as the offense looked to the outside perimeter to trim their deficit, with McKenna Ferris and Paris May coming together to sink three big second quarter three-pointers to take what was an eight-point deficit entering the frame and transform it into just a single point when the two teams made the trip back into the locker room for the break.
The momentum flipped back in Wellsville’s favor once again at the start of the second half, as the Lady Lions accounted for an 11-4 run to regain their eight-point lead on the hosts in white and red, with Dunbar and Caelyn Stevens combining to record all 11 of the team’s points.
Going up by a 33-25 count entering the last eight minutes, the Lady Chargers began to run out of time.
Despite the pressure from the visitors in black and orange, Canisteo-Greenwood assembled one last heroic push against Wellsville in the last eight minutes by setting their sights on the outer arc one more time, as May, Anna Mitchell and MacKenna Mullen all converged to bucket the last four triples from downtown to set up their best outing of offense in the game.
But in the end, the Lady Lions turned their attention back to their senior leader Dunbar to lock up the victory for good, as she struck gold from the charity stripe with seven enormous shots to keep the Lady Chargers in the rearview mirror for good.
Dunbar finished leading all scorers with a game-high 25 points, pairing them with eight rebounds.
Adding more aid for the Lady Lions was Caelyn Stevens, who finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Jaden Dunbar had six points, while Emily Stuck finished off the scoring with a two-point bucket. On special teams, Alexa Hennessy handed out four assists, while Natalie Adams had four rebounds.
The Lady Chargers were paced by Paris May and her team-high 16 points. Bailey Mullen concluded a point shy of recording a double-double, scoring nine points to go with 13 big rebounds, while Anna Mitchell furthered the special teams cause by grabbing six additional boards off the glass herself. Canisteo-Greenwood will perform a quick turnaround back on their home hardwood tonight, hosting Campbell-Savona at 7:15 p.m.
In the JV contest at the start of the evening, Lexi Coleman’s team-high 13 points powered up a Lady Lions victory over Canisteo-Greenwood by a 45-24 count.
Wellsville is back on the road Saturday afternoon, as they get set to visit the Pioneer Lady Panthers in a 2:30 p.m. tip-off.
Wellsville 16 6 11 13 – 46
Canisteo-Greenwood 8 13 4 16 – 41
WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 5 2-4 13, Alexa Hennessy 0 0-2 0, Emily Stuck 1 0-0 2, Makenna Dunbar 5 14-18 25, Jaden Dunbar 2 2-3 6. Totals: 13 18-27 46.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 3 3-5 9, MacKenna Mullen 2 1-2 6, McKenna Ferris 2 0-0 5, Paris May 6 0-0 16, Anna Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Harlie McCaffery 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 4-7 41.
3-point goals: Wellsville 2 (Stevens, M. Dunbar), C-G 7 (May 4, M. Mullen, Ferris, Mitchell).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 9, C-G 23. Fouled out: B. Mullen (C-G).
Fillmore 62, Friendship/Scio 22
FRIENDSHIP — Right from the get-go, the Fillmore Lady Eagles lit the fuse for their attack and put a massive first quarter fireworks show on full display against Friendship/Scio over the road, setting the tone to construct their seventh straight win on Thursday by a 62-22 count in Friendship.
The Lady Eagles (7-0) wasted no time striking while the iron was hot, as they assembled their largest outing of offense in the entire 32-minute contest to construct an advantage that was never relinquished, using an all-balanced effort across the board to cement a 25-7 first quarter run.
Leading the way on the attack was a red hot performance from the field by Emalyn Mucher, as she sank three of Fillmore’s four triples on her way towards a game-high 19 points. Mattie McCumiskey posted 11 points, while Mylee Miller and Morghyn Ross each had 10 points to chip in.
Friendship/Scio (2-7) was paced by Alexiss Herring and her nine team-leading points. Emily Lamberson had seven points. The team will look to bounce back on Wednesday with a visit from Bolivar-Richburg in Friendship beginning at 6 p.m.
Fillmore will head back home and welcome in the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford on Monday for battle at 7:30 p.m.
Fillmore 25 12 13 12 – 62
Friendship/Scio 7 4 3 8 – 22
FILLMORE: Mylee Miller 5 0-0 10, Tenlee Miller 3 0-0 6, Lily Sisson 2 0-0 4, Morghyn Ross 4 1-2 10, Emalyn Mucher 8 0-0 19, Mattie McCumiskey 5 1-2 11, Kelsie Songster 1 0-0 2. Totals: 28 2-4 62.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Emily Lamberson 3 0-0 7, Kaydence Sadler 2 0-0 4, Alexiss Herring 4 1-2 9, Emma Bolzan 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 1-2 22.
3-point goals: Fillmore 4 (Mucher 3, Ross), F/S 1 (Lamberson).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 3, F/S 4. Fouled out: None.
