Tuesday Sectionals: Riquelme nets pair for Lady Rebels, but No. 9 Avon scores late netter to upset No. 8 C-R, 3-2 in Class C1 opening round battle

Cuba-Rushford junior Taylor Searle (23) looks to make a move inside against the Avon defense with possession during Tuesday afternoon’s Class C1 First Round contest in Cuba. [PHOTO BY CHRIS CAPPELLETTI]

Cuba-Rushford senior Rachel Dyche (6) races after the loose ball after shaking off the Avon defense during Tuesday afternoon’s Class C1 First Round contest in Cuba. [PHOTO BY CHRIS CAPPELLETTI]

Cuba-Rushford junior Sofia Riquelme (9) looks to work her way around the Avon defense deep in the offensive zone during Tuesday afternoon’s Class C1 First Round contest in Cuba. [PHOTO BY CHRIS CAPPELLETTI]

CUBA — The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford left it all on the field on Tuesday. They got off on the brightest of notes to begin their trip through the Class C1 field against No. 9 Avon by scoring in the first minute of the game. From that point, a back-and-forth battle would ensue all the way until the end.

Despite losing the lead at the half, the host eight-seeds would find a way to tie the game back up. But with nearly 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Lady Braves were able to pick up the goal that mattered most to move ahead of Cuba-Rushford, and for good, as they forced elimination upon the Lady Rebels with a 3-2 upset victory over the road.

“It was a good game. Avon was a big, tough and physical team to contend with,” said Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight. “We struggled to get any control over the game because of that. We faced a ton of shots, but despite that, I was really happy with how hard we played, and we took advantage of our chances and made it a great game to be a part of.”

Sofia Riquelme scored both of Cuba-Rushford’s (10-7) goals, with her first coming rather quickly to begin the game with a 1-0 lead on Avon just 23 seconds in, connecting with the back of the net off a pass provisioned by Cloey Larabee from the middle to complete the play.

The Lady Rebels would hold onto their lead up until the midway mark of the half, when Avon scored back-to-back goals in a 54-second span to tie, and take the lead away from the hosts in blue, with Riley Paylor and Ellie Cochrane recording the offense that saw the Lady Braves take the one-goal lead at the break.

The lead would hold for all of about three minutes into the second half, when Riquelme acted quickly once more with her second of the game to tie the game. It would remain an even deadlock all the way down the homestretch, when the visitors in white and green found their opening to pull back ahead once and for all, as Cochrane scored her second of the game to ultimately put the game on ice.

When it was all said and done, 41 combined total shots were taken at the respective cages, with Avon taking the 29-12 overall advantage over Cuba-Rushford. In net for the Lady Rebels, Tara Duvall set aside 12 of those shots.

Cuba-Rushford’s resilient comeback season is now officially in the books, as they rebounded from a 1-8-2 campaign a year ago, and multiplied their win total by 10, finishing the 2021 season with a record of 10-7 overall. The Lady Rebels will bid farewell to 10 Seniors all together at the end of the year in Lillian Forward, Macie Demick, Elysa Tylor, Anna Belcer, Rachel Dyche, Mackenzie Keiser, Ella Jaffe, Jessica Dyche and Macy Minges.

Wight said that the comeback season his Lady Rebels team provided, had exceeded all of his expectations.

“I kind of had the goal in my head to be right around .500 for this season, and the girls exceeded that expectation this year,” he said. “This is a good group that works incredibly hard during the off-season. Although we had only one win last year, we had some close games in that season and I think that really helped these girls learn and develop over that time. The Seniors in this group were great to coach, and they will be missed. A few of them have been with me all four years that I’ve been here coaching soccer, so they will be some tough pieces to replace.”

Wellsville senior Emily Costello (12) races after the loose ball alongside the Livonia defense during Tuesday night’s Class B2 First Round contest in Livonia. [PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDSEY MEYS PHOTOGRAPHY]

Wellsville junior Audrey Hugar (18) shields the ball from the Livonia defense while gaining possession during Tuesday night’s Class B2 First Round contest in Livonia. [PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDSEY MEYS PHOTOGRAPHY]

Class B2 First Round

No. 8 Livonia 4, No. 9 Wellsville 1

LIVONIA — The first 40 minutes of play was used for the Lady Bulldogs of Livonia to impose their will, as the No. 8 seeds got off to a start that they never looked back from, despite losing their possibility at a shutout down the homestretch, rolling toward a 4-1 opening round victory on their home field against No. 9 Wellsville on Tuesday.

The Lady Bulldogs got off to a strong start to their game, by scoring the first three of their four goals right in the opening 40 minute frame to build a big halftime lead to carry into the second half. In the final 40 minutes, the lead would grow to four and be held until time hit below 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

The Lady Lions (4-13) would find a way to erase the zero on their side of the scoreboard with Jaylynn Mess scoring the final goal for the team this season, and in her career, with the ball taking a deflection from the Livonia defense and back into the offensive zone where she carried the possession back in. Streaking in as close as the near side of the Lady Bulldogs net, her shot dribbled toward the far side where it would find its way into the net after a misplay by the defense to clear the zone.

But the goal would be all Wellsville would score, as Livonia managed to hang onto their three-goal lead to move onto the next round of the Class B2 Tournament.

Further statistics were not made available upon publication.

The season is over for the Lady Lions, as they wrap up their 2021 campaign with a record of 4-13 overall. The team will graduate eight Seniors at the end of the school year in Mess, Emily Costello, Vena O’Dell, Kylie Fanton-Acker, Anya Jeffers, Kaitlin Osgood, Alyssa Crooks and Pearl Brizzee.

Class C2 First Round

No. 9 Kendall 4, No. 8 Bolivar-Richburg 0

ATTICA — Ninth-seeded Kendall saw offense being conducted in their favor for the majority of the contest, as they scored an early 1-0 lead on No. 8 Bolivar-Richburg.

Later on, the momentum quickly reached a boiling point in the second half with the Lady Eagles scoring three more goals, adding to their lead to pull away from the Lady Wolverines for good to take the 4-0 opening round decision in Attica on Tuesday.

T’Mia Kitchings scored two of Kendall’s four goals, including the first of the game coming near the midway mark of the opening half to grab the 1-0 lead at the break. Although the Lady Wolverines (8-9) were within reach in time for the second half, the Lady Eagles quickly grabbed their second goal within the first five minutes of the new session from Megan Gates to keep the momentum in their favor.

Kitchings, along with Brooke Rodas would go on to score the last two goals of the game at the 13th and 36th minute marks for Kendall to pull away for good, eliminating Bolivar-Richburg from Sectional contention.

The Lady Wolverines scored eight total shots on Kendall net, all of which were stopped by the Lady Eagles to preserve the shutout.

The season is over for Bolivar-Richburg, as they conclude their first official season under head coach Brooke Lovell with a record of 8-9 overall. The team will graduate six Seniors in all at the end of the school year in Jessica Majot, Paityn Johnston, Braelin Bentley, Kayli Giardini, Raina Bowen and Breanna Militello.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Houghton Academy 0

WELLSVILLE — The Lady Lions had to move quite a bit on defense against a speedy Houghton Academy offense on the floor, Tuesday night in their quick return to action.

But despite it, unbeaten Wellsville would find a way to navigate through it and toward their 13th straight win of the season, and their 12th in a row in straight sets, squeezing past the visiting Lady Panthers by a 25-16, 25-15, 25-23 count.

The Lady Lions (13-0) would have to move around on the floor to keep the ball in play, as five different players combined to record nearly 30 digs on defense against Houghton Academy. Leading the way on defense was Jaelyn Knapp, who recorded a team-high nine digs to pair with three kills and three aces. Brooklyn Stisser added in six digs of her own as well as five more kills on offense and one ace.

On the attack, Marley Adams headed the front for the hosts behind a team-leading seven kills and five digs. Kaylee Coleman added in four kills of her own while chipping in on defense with three digs. Setter Maddy Parks handed out a whopping 20 assists at the front, adding them alongside four digs.

For the Lady Panthers (8-5), Jessica Prentice led the way behind a game-high 20 digs on defense, pairing them with six kills on offense and three aces from the line.

Both teams will wrap up their regular seasons in the upcoming days, as the Lady Lions will end theirs on the road tonight with a 7 p.m. first serve slated in Hinsdale, while Houghton Academy ends their campaign back on the road with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Cuba-Rushford on Friday.