Thursday Roundup: GV/Belfast volleyball wins 3rd straight, reaches .500 with four-set win at Hammondsport;
HAMMONDSPORT — Genesee Valley/Belfast, after starting the season with a 2-5 record, have brought their performance together as a whole to make their climb back up toward .500 on the season.
On Thursday, more momentum was added over the road with a huge win against Section V power Hammondsport, as they overcame a second set fall to the Lady Lakers and bounced back in the final two sets to complete the win, taking the 3-1 decision — their fourth win in the last five games, by a 25-16, 9-25, 26-24, 25-18 count.
“We have some tough games coming up, but it’s definitely an accomplishment that they are still finding ways to win even though there is some struggle,” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt. “There were a lot more smiley faces tonight. We had a great start before Hammondsport put the pressure on us and kept attacking really well. We got some great serves in a row in the third set and that was when we really started to perform much better overall. We had to make a bit of a comeback, but we pulled ourselves together by switching some things up toward the end, but as a team, we stepped up and put a lot of pressure on with our serves and scrappy play.”
Genesee Valley/Belfast (7-7) grabbed a magnificent start in the first set with Madison Mackenzie and her fantastic service from the line helping fuel the 1-0 match lead behind 10 consecutive points to take the win.
After a downfall in the second, the rebound was ignited by another strand of scoreless points in the third set by Addy Herring, accumulating eight straight to help put toward a victorious marathon exchange with Hammondsport. The third set performance would wind up carrying over in the fourth set, as Genesee Valley/Belfast hung on to capture the win.
Kaitlin Sadler led the way for Genesee Valley/Belfast on offense behind eight team-high kills and one block. Mackenzie added in seven aces to go with four kills, while Herring dished out 13 assists to pair with seven more aces and three kills.
Genesee Valley/Belfast is back home tonight, hoping to get back over .500 in the Jungle by facing undefeated Wellsville — winners of 10 straight, in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
BOYS SOCCER
Genesee Valley/Belfast 2, Scio 1 (F-OT)
BELMONT — Overtime has been a phase of the game that has grown attached to both Scio and Genesee Valley/Belfast as of late.
When the two foes came together for their only clash of the season on Thursday, extra time would be needed after sparking an offensive second half of play.
For the Tigers, it is their sixth overtime game of the season. For Genesee Valley/Belfast, their second straight.
Something had to give. And while they looked to rebound off their overtime loss earlier in the week to Cuba-Rushford, Genesee Valley/Belfast had it in the form of their best scorer, Matt Weaver.
After both teams scored once in regulation to force the extra time, the senior made sure his second goal of the game was the one that ended it, as he found the back of the net on a rush into the offensive zone with under six minutes to go to secure a 2-1 overtime win over Scio.
The goal was one of two consecutive Genesee Valley/Belfast (10-6) would need to take away the win from Scio, as the Tigers began the second half with a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of play, led by Jordan White’s tally, which was just one of two shots the visitors applied on their opposing cage.
Weaver, five minutes after the opener, got on the board himself with his first goal to ultimately tie the game up for the hosts at the 25:23 mark on an unassisted tally of his own.
Both teams would race up and down the field in the midst of their battle at midfield, leading to an extra session being required to wrap up the evening. In that first session, Genesee Valley/Belfast made sure that it was the only session to play with Weaver scoring his second off a great pass provisioned by Trent Scott with 5:53 remaining to finish off the comeback win.
Genesee Valley/Belfast would go on to outshoot Scio (6-6-2) by a 9-2 count, with Thai Norasethaporn garnering the win with one save, while Ethan Davenport set aside seven saves for the Tigers.
The regular season is over for Genesee Valley, as they now await their place in the Class D1 Tournament this weekend with an overall record of 10-6.
As for Scio, their regular season wraps up with two more games to go, beginning tonight back home by hosting Friendship in a 7 p.m. battle before heading out to Hinsdale on Saturday for an 11 a.m. first kick.
Houghton Academy 3, Friendship 0
FRIENDSHIP — All that was needed was the first 40 minutes for the Houghton Academy offense to come alive, as they scored all three of their goals in the opening session to get the jumpstart they needed to spring ahead of host Friendship on Thursday, rolling toward a 3-0 shutout victory.
Right inside the first 10 minutes of play, Alex Fraile began the scoring for Houghton Academy (5-6-2), taking a pass provided by Duy Le and finding the back of the Friendship net with it to break the ice at the 31:19 mark.
Le would then find his way on the board himself later on in the half, as the Panthers provided two more goals in a five minute span with his coming first at the 14:45 mark off a pass from Anna Huizenga.
With 9:43 left until the break, the visitors solidified their win for good with the team’s leading goal scorer, Henry Sardina finding the back of the net himself to put a bow on an offensive attack that saw them outshoot the Golden Eagles (1-14) by a 20-12 count.
In goal, Chris Habecker made 13 stops for Houghton Academy to record the shutout, while Taylor Moore also made 13 saves on the other end for Friendship.
Both teams will end their regular season slate tonight, as Houghton Academy heads back home to host Hinsdale in a 5 p.m. first kick, while Friendship heads over the hill to visit Scio in a 7 p.m. contest of their own.
Hinsdale 9, Andover/Whitesville 0
WHITESVILLE — The Bobcats of Hinsdale provided a scorching hot display of offense in Whitesville on Thursday, as they picked up their 10th win in style with six of their nine total goals being scored in the final 40 minutes of play to fly past host Andover/Whitesville with a 9-0 shutout.
Tucker Schwartz led the way for Hinsdale (10-3-1) with a massive eight-point night on offense, consisting of a hat trick and two assists. Jacob Elliott pitched in with some more help of his own, adding a goal and dishing out three assists.
Helping further the cause was Parker Cummins, who scored two goals. Kadyn Cassidy, Tyler Richards and Ethan Chapman all had goals of their own, while Richards chipped in with an assist along the way.
Before the contest, Andover/Whitesville honored all nine of their Seniors for their annual Senior Night celebration. Those being Cormac Brown, Carson Frungillo, Tyler Hackett, Zach Rizzo, Ethan Lewis, Dylan Acor, Lucas Erdmann, Conner Phillips and Justin Waters. Andover/Whitesville’s regular season is now over, as they now await Sectionals with a record of 1-14.
As for Hinsdale, their regular season will come to a close on Saturday with an 11 a.m. first kick scheduled back home against the incoming Scio Tigers.
