Tuesday Roundup: GV/Belfast spoils girls volleyball debut for And/Whi, roll in straight sets to earn season-opening win; Holley’s 20-point 3rd quarter dooms Wolverines football in 48-30 continuation
BELMONT — For longtime volleyball coach Jake Bannerman, it all started last Fall when the idea of volleyball floated around the Andover and Whitesville hallways. The word of mouth about the newest sports venture spread like wildfire so quickly between both communities, that it became an instant hit.
When the calendar flipped to this Fall, the overwhelming turnout he received for the then-club sport, all returned again. This time, it would be for their first year ever competing in Allegany County and in Section V. For Andover Central School, it’s a wait that has lasted for more than three decades.
Bannerman, who now serves as the team’s head coach, says the administration did not think twice about making volleyball a mainstay in their local sports scene.
“We added more opportunities for our students,” he said. “The administration was really quick on the button to allow us to have volleyball. When we originally had this idea, we had a solid turnout of girls. The cool thing is every single girl that was committed to our practices last Fall, came back this year. We have sophomores and juniors, so it is really cool to be able to have a longer window for the girls to grow and learn to compete.”
The big day to make a splash in the girls volleyball realm officially arrived in full on Tuesday. Andover/Whitesville’s very first opponent, was a familiar one for Bannerman — Genesee Valley, a Lady Jaguars program he guided from 2013 to 2018 before the school’s athletic merger with Belfast.
From start to finish, it was an early exchange of points, but one team was able to find their rhythm as the match went on. That being Genesee Valley/Belfast, as they came together to produce a straight-set sweep of Andover/Whitesville to spoil their girls volleyball debut in the Jungle with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-14 victory.
“I was very happy with our serving tonight. We had a lot of good runs created by just good serves getting in and challenging,” GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt said. “We’re a pretty young team with some upperclassmen that have never played before. With a starting lineup that contains a sophomore and two freshmen, it was good to see them come out strong. I’m pretty excited to see where they get to, especially as time, team chemistry and practice continues.”
Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-0) was led by Paizlee Tilton from the back line, as she recorded a team-high 12 aces to go with six kills and four digs on defense. Right behind her was Addison Bradt, who had 11 more aces to pair with three digs. Emalee Carmen had 10 aces and nine assists to pitch in.
On the flip side of the court, Andover/Whitesville (0-1) was paced by Peyton Graham and her seven assists and four kills. Adding more help along the way was Lilly Ordiway, who chipped in with six more assists at the front of the net, five digs, three kills and three aces.
Despite the loss, Bannerman says for the first game in the program’s history, it was a memorable one for Andover/Whitesville.
“This was very cool to be a part of,” said Bannerman. “Darren is a friend of mine and he does a great job with them. He’s created a good culture. The girls can look back on this game and say they were a part of something special. The first ever game as a volleyball program for Andover/Whitesville and the first for Andover itself in over 30 years. This was great.”
Genesee Valley/Belfast is back on the court over the road tonight with a 6 p.m. visit to Keshequa, while Andover/Whitesville heads for Hinsdale on Thursday in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
Wellsville 3, Houghton Academy 0
HOUGHTON — Following a strong championship-clinching performance at Campbell-Savona this past weekend, the Lady Lions of Wellsville entered Tuesday night’s visit to Houghton Academy at full boar, as they kept their foot down on the gas pedal to collect their first victory of the young campaign, using a competitive first set to establish a straight-set, 25-20, 25-11, 25-19 victory over the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Lions (1-1) assembled an ensemble of performances that helped guide them to victory. Leading the way was Makenna Dunbar, the team’s MVP during tournament festivities on Saturday, as she followed up with five big kills to go with three aces and three blocks. Averee Palmatier chipped in with five aces from the back line, in addition to four kills and a pair of digs.
More assistance was sought from Lindsay Stuck, who had six digs, four kills and four aces to chip in, while Natalie Adams (six digs) helped round off the offensive efforts with four more kills and four aces.
The team’s setter, Alexis Irish, handed out 15 big assists at the front of the net.
Houghton Academy (0-1) was led by both Julia Winkens and Emily Xie, as each Lady Panther garnered five team-leading kills on offense. On defense, Abby Reitnour kept the ball off the floor behind 10 digs. The Lady Panthers are back on the court Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with a visit to Fillmore.
The Lady Lions will mark their return to action back on the road Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. trip to Bloomfield.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Fillmore 1
FILLMORE — Nearly identical to the previous night, a back-and-forth first set of action was followed by three straight victories to close out a four-set battle in Hammondsport — one that the Lady Eagles of Fillmore fought back to capture.
This time around, it was their next opponent on the docket — the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, who performed such a task against Fillmore to claim their first win of the season on Tuesday, as they overcame a competitive opening set in The Rock and followed up with three consecutive triumphs to take care of business by a 23-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-9 count.
Cuba-Rushford (1-1) was propelled by a strong night of offense conducted by Katelyn Radomski, who dished out eight kills and a pair of aces. Jordyn Radomski followed behind with seven strong aces from the back line to go with five kills and a pair of digs, while setter Kendall Tompkins handed out a whopping 26 assists, pairing them with six additional aces and six digs on defense.
Fillmore (1-2) was paced by Mya Keeler on offense, garnering a team-leading four kills to go with an ace and a dig. Setter Eleanor Reitnour handed out six assists to couple along with a pair of aces. The Lady Eagles remain at home to host crosstown rival Houghton Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Lady Rebels will look to continue their winning ways on Monday with a 7:30 p.m. visit from Olean.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Hinsdale 0
HINSDALE — For the first time this season, the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg graced their presence on the volleyball court and began their 2024 campaign on the strongest of notes, as they rolled towards straight-set glory over the host Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale on Tuesday with a 25-12, 25-16, 25-8 win.
Carmen Crowley was a big reason behind the Lady Wolverines (1-0) success on both sides of the spectrum, as she collected 15 digs on defense to go with 14 kills. Setter Willow Worth dished out 19 assists to help keep the engine firing on all cylinders for the attack.
Statistics for the Lady Bobcats (0-1) were not made available to report upon publication.
Both teams are back on the court Thursday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. first serves, with Bolivar-Richburg hitting the road for Genesee Valley/Belfast, while Hinsdale stands pat at home with a visit from Andover/Whitesville.
FOOTBALL
Holley 48, Bolivar-Richburg 30
BOLIVAR — Severe weather put a screeching halt on Bolivar-Richburg’s season opener at Dunsmore-Latimer Field this past Friday night, where a high octane shootout between the Holley Hawks and the Wolverines completely unfurled across the first half, with the hosts clinging onto a 24-16 lead before play was halted.
With much more pleasant conditions in the air at full force for Tuesday night’s revisiting and completion of their Week 1 battle, there was enough time on the board for the Hawks to make a move once again to remain side-by-side with the Wolverines going into halftime, grabbing their third touchdown of the half to cut the deficit to two.
Turns out that half-ending touchdown was a complete game-changer.
The red zone score out of the hands of quarterback Destin Kuyal, who wound up accounting for six of the offense’s seven touchdowns, was the first of five straight touchdowns extending deep into the second half that helped disperse a game-altering thundershock on the gridiron, as Holley went on to account for 26 unanswered points to take a 24-22 halftime deficit and turn it into a 48-30 road victory over the Wolverines.
Dating back to Friday night when the action first began, both teams went back and forth through a first quarter that saw 32 of the game’s 78 combined points, with the scoring beginning with a 66-yard touchdown pass from Kuyal to Mason Moyer on 3rd-and-17. On the following drive, the Wolverines (0-1) immediately responded with the aid of a 36-yard run by Maddox Davison to tie the game at eight.
The back-and-forth exchange carried on with Holley finding the end zone for a second consecutive drive, this time from Kuyal himself, as he used his legs to scamper away from the Bolivar-Richburg defense for a 9-yard score and a 16-8 lead following another successful two-point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff, it was Tavyn MacDonell’s turn to do some heavy damage, as he found his lane and activated cruise control straight through it, going 80 yards to the house to deadlock the game one more time at 16.
At the start of the second quarter following a turnover on downs against Holley, the Wolverines went on to take their first official lead of the game with MacDonell speeding away once again. After four penalties called against the hosts on the drive, MacDonell cashed in on a 56-yard touchdown — his first on offense and second of the game, to claim a 24-16 lead leading up to the end of play, due to the severe weather.
Fast forward to Tuesday night, it was a much different story when the two teams re-emerged on the field again.
From the end of the first half onwards, the Hawks took over, forcing two major turnovers while scoring five straight touchdowns in the process against the Wolverines defense to turn the game completely in their favor, ultimately collecting their first win behind nearly 500 yards of total offense.
As for Bolivar-Richburg, they went on to finish with 359 total yards of offense against the Hawks, with MacDonell garnering a big chunk of those yards by scoring 29 carries for 243 yards and his touchdown. On defense, he led all tacklers with nine, while Davison followed with seven. Logan Shreve added a sack.
Up next, the Wolverines will look to regroup and recover for their first of three Saturday afternoon matinees on their schedule this Fall, as they prepare to host Trumansburg back at Dunsmore-Latimer Field at 12 p.m.
Holley 16 6 20 6 – 48
Bolivar-Richburg 16 8 0 6 – 30
Scoring Summary
1st
HOL – Mason Moyer 66-yard pass from Destin Kuyal, 2-pts good (8-0 HOL)
B-R – Maddox Davison 36-yard run, 2-pts good (8-8)
HOL – Destin Kuyal 9-yard run, 2-pts good (16-8 HOL)
B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 80-yard kickoff return, 2-pts good (16-16)
2nd
B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 56-yard run, 2-pts good (24-16 B-R)
HOL – Vincent Golisano 14-yard pass from Destin Kuyal, 2-pts failed (24-22 B-R)
3rd
HOL – Hunter Jewell-Smith 3-yard run, 2-pts failed (28-24 HOL)
HOL – Destin Kuyal 30-yard run, 2-pts good (36-24 HOL)
HOL – Vincent Golisano 25-yard pass from Destin Kuyal, 2-pts failed (42-24 HOL)
4th
HOL – Vincent Golisano 43-yard pass from Destin Kuyal, 2-pts failed (48-24 HOL)
B-R – Maddox Davison 12-yard pass from Tavyn MacDonell, 2-pts failed (48-30 HOL)
Total Yards: HOL 496, B-R 359.
Passing: HOL 266, B-R 12.
Rushing: HOL 230, B-R 347.
First Downs: HOL 22, B-R 16.
Turnovers: HOL 0, B-R 3.
Penalties: HOL 7-94, B-R 9-74.
Punts: HOL 2-40, B-R 1-10.
TOP: HOL 23:00, B-R 29:34.
BOYS SOCCER
Genesee Valley/Belfast 3, Cuba-Rushford 2
CUBA — One team took control of one half, while the other then assumed control of the driver’s seat themselves later on. That was the story Tuesday night in Cuba, when the host Rebels scored an early lead on visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast to carry into the halftime break.
But later on, the visitors in white and black found their way back into the game at the most opportune time, as they completed an incredible second half comeback with three go-ahead goals in a seven-minute span to flip the action on the field completely on its head all the way to the final horn, as Genesee Valley/Belfast springboarded towards a 2-0 start on the season with a clutch 3-2 win over defending Class C2 champion Cuba-Rushford.
“Credit to GV/Belfast on their ability to stay in the game tonight and turn it around,” Rebels coach Rob Wight said. “We had a lot of chances early in the second half to put them away, and if you don’t put those away, good teams will make you pay for it. Evan Turybury is a great player and he was able to give them a spark to help flip the game. I’ve got a younger and inexperienced group out there, and this game helped us learn a really valuable lesson tonight.”
The first half of action was primarily controlled by Cuba-Rushford (0-1-1) to kick the night off, as they made the most of the opportunity in front of them with a 2-0 lead at the break, nabbing their first of two Robert Childs goals just past the midway mark off a feed dished along by Carter Brown. The Childs and Brown connection clicked one more time later on with 7:34 left on the clock to double their advantage before time expired.
Each team produced eight shots on goal across the first half, but the momentum completely turned upside down in favor of Genesee Valley/Belfast’s (2-0) favor in the second half with the help of Evan Turybury and Sal Gambino, as the two combined for all three of the team’s goals in the last 40 minutes of play, beginning with Gambino’s first strike to erase Cuba-Rushford’s shutout bid at the 16:59 mark.
Just eclipsing five minutes later, Genesee Valley/Belfast tied the game at two with Turybury breaking free from the Rebels defense after receiving a pass from Owen Heaney. With momentum riding ever so in their favor, they went on to turn the tide completely with 9:21 left — two and a half minutes removed from their deadlocking connection from Turybury, as Gambino recorded his second of the game to propel the visitors ahead once and for all.
The three goals for Genesee Valley/Belfast were accumulated off 19 total shots against Cuba-Rushford, as they held a 19-9 advantage. In net, the win was Zach Thomas’ to collect, as he made seven saves. On the other end of the field, Caleb Elliott set aside 16 shots for the Rebels, who now get set for a 5 p.m. visit to Bolivar-Richburg on Monday.
Coming up on Thursday, Genesee Valley/Belfast will now gear up for a big road matchup with defending Class D champion Fillmore beginning at 7 p.m.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Friendship/Scio 2
FRIENDSHIP — Brayden Zilker delivered the best of both halves for the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg on Tuesday. Aiming to rebound off of their Monday night loss to Portville, the Wolverines junior broke the scoring open before solidifying their lead early in the second half to make sure they grabbed their first win of the season over Friendship/Scio by a 3-2 count in Friendship.
After battling with Friendship/Scio early on for possession, the Wolverines (1-1) built a big burst of momentum just past the 10 minute mark with the aid of Zilker’s first tally, which saw a big assist from goalkeeper Ayden Music between the posts, but the hosts responded past midway off Cooper Greenman’s game-tying score for Friendship/Scio.
The tie on the board would not last long, as Zilker then added special teams help with an assist on Bolivar-Richburg’s go-ahead goal to close out the first half, as he fed Ryder Iantorno the momentous pass to finish off the score. A massive piece of insurance was collected in the beginning stages of the second half behind Zilker’s aid one more time, as he provided the team’s third and final goal — his second of the game stemming off a corner kick just four minutes in to make it a big 3-1 lead.
The advantage remained firmly intact until Friendship/Scio (0-3) applied the pressure late down the stretch, when Greenman picked up an assist to go with his first half score, handing the ball off to Daniel Lamberson with 15 minutes remaining in regulation. But the deficit they faced in the second half was ultimately too much to overcome in the end, as Bolivar-Richburg survived to pick up their first win.
On the attack, Bolivar-Richburg held a 10-4 shot advantage against Friendship/Scio, with Music recording the victory between the posts behind a pair of saves. On the other end of the pitch, Deacon Brown made seven saves for the hosts.
Both teams will return to action Thursday night in a pair of 5 p.m. contests on their home fields, with the Wolverines heading back home to welcome in Andover/Whitesville, while Friendship/Scio stays put in Friendship to host Houghton Academy.
Fillmore 2, Houghton Academy 0
HOUGHTON — Jared Boon had a first game to remember for the Fillmore Eagles, Tuesday night.
In his first ever Varsity appearance, his impact reverberated across every single inch of the pitch just down the road at Houghton Academy, as the Eagles freshman knocked in both of the team’s scores — one in each half of play to help record a victorious season debut for defending Class D champion Fillmore with a 2-0 victory.
The Eagles (1-0) inherited the best of both worlds across the pitch against the Panthers, as they found their way to the back of the net first on offense while the defense buckled down and allowed just a single shot to reach Brayden Hennard between the posts. The goal was the first of two for Boon, as well as the first of his young Varsity career, as he capitalized on a great pass sent along by Isaiah Sisson with less than 10 minutes to go.
Houghton Academy (0-2) would continue to remain step for step alongside Fillmore across the second half, but the Eagles would find their way to the back of the Panthers net one more time for a gigantic piece of insurance, as Boon connected with his second of the game off a corner kick by Sam Cool, using his noggin to knock the ball straight into the net in the 55th minute.
The two goals supplied by the defending Class D champions stemmed off of 11 total shots, as they went on to claim an 11-2 advantage on the attack. Hennard made both stops in goal to record the shutout, while Jerry Pham made nine saves for the host Panthers.
Both teams are back on the pitch Thursday night, with Fillmore beginning preparations for an early titanic battle with Genesee Valley/Belfast back home in a 7 p.m. first kick, while Houghton Academy hits the road for Friendship for a 5 p.m. battle with Friendship/Scio.
