Wednesday Roundup: Cuba-Rushford, Scio start Winter seasons in win column, record straight set victories over Wellsville, GV/Belfast; B-R drops opener at Ark/Can

WELLSVILLE — The goal for the defending Allegany County League champions to begin the season, was to pick up right where they left off from last year.

With the Cuba-Rushford Rebels in town for night one on Wednesday, the Lions of Wellsville took aim at doing just that. In a close battle throughout the night, both teams delivered back and forth shots across the court. But in the end, the visitors in blue and white made sure they provided just enough firepower to cross the finish line.

The Rebels outlasted two close sets with the Lions to begin the night, winning by two and five points before keeping the gas pedal down to close it out, as they performed a straight-set sweep of the defending champions to hang their first game into the win column by a 25-23, 25-20, 25-12 count.

“We were very nervous for our first game, but we had enough returning players to kind of weather the storm and get us through,” said Rebels coach Nick Perillo. “They helped the new guys get up to speed, and they all have fun playing volleyball because of it. The first set, we had to come back from a pretty big deficit and through the leadership of the upperclassmen, we were able to come back and keep that mentality through the next two sets.”

Leading the Rebels (1-0) on the attack was Jarrett Campbell, who recorded a team-high five kills to go with three aces and two blocks. Nate Cole provided excellent service behind five more aces and two kills, while setter Allen Fuller dished out 12 assists to pair with three aces, and two more kills of his own.

On the other side, Wellsville (0-1) was led by Mason Parks on the frontlines offensively, pacing with a team-high five kills and three aces. From the service line, Gavin Dickerson recorded three aces, one kill and one dig, while setter Matt Bittel had four assists to pass out to couple with two more aces and one block.

Both teams are back in action Friday night with 6 p.m. first serves, as the Rebels head back home to host their home opener with Scio in town, while Wellsville heads out to visit Arkport/Canaseraga to open their slate on the road.

Scio 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

SCIO — The Tigers of Scio started their 2021-22 season out on the strongest of footnotes Wednesday night at home, as they set the tone immediately in what was a straight-set sweep over visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast, taking the 25-13, 25-13, 25-21 decision.

Max Morris and Dan Fuller led the charge for the Tigers (1-0) up front with two kills each. Helping further the cause more was Jude Marion, who added in two aces and two blocks, while Corey Field handed out three assists at the front to pair with one more ace.

Genesee Valley/Belfast (0-1) was paced by a six-ace effort from Canaan Sullivan. Dominic Mara added in four blocks, three kills and one ace to round off.

Both teams are back on the floor in 6 p.m. first serves on Friday, as Scio looks to take the strong start over the road to Cuba-Rushford, while Genesee Valley/Belfast continues the road swing into Bolivar-Richburg.

Arkport/Canaseraga 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0

ARKPORT — The Wolves of Arkport/Canaseraga fired on all cylinders to make sure their start to the season was strong, as they took care of business with a season-opening, straight-set sweep of visiting Bolivar-Richburg on Wednesday, recording the 25-12, 25-15, 25-21 victory on their home floor.

No statistics for the Wolverines (0-1) were reported upon publication.

Bolivar-Richburg will be back in action back home in Richburg on Friday, taking on incoming Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 6 p.m. first serve.