Friday Roundup: In colossal volleyball clash, B-R remains undefeated after another 5-set instant classic with Wellsville; C-R boys rally back with last minute goal, OT-winner in 3-2 win over And/Whi

BOLIVAR — The battles that Wellsville and Bolivar-Richburg have shared over the years on the volleyball court have been nothing but extraordinary. There is simply no doubt that you will get the price of admission every time.

Friday night was absolutely no different.

The momentum shifted in every single direction known to man in their first grandiloquent battle of the season, as the two longtime volleyball rivals fought tooth and nail, delivering back and forth blows in front of a packed crowd. As a result, all five sets were needed to decide it all between the Lady Lions and Lady Wolverines.

Wellsville found a way to start the night strong, but when it came to closing the book, the Lady Wolverines mustered one of the strongest finishes possible.

In the midst of a back-and-forth affair in the fourth set, Bolivar-Richburg used a collection of momentum to tilt the pendulum in their favor to force a decisive fifth set. To close up shop, their massive momentum boost shifted gears into the epilogue of the match, as they built a massive lead and never let go of it to finish off what was a 20-25, 25-22, 16-25, 26-24, 15-10 win.

“Once we took that fourth set, we could taste it. The momentum was incredible,” said Lady Wolverines coach Tina Loucks. “We battled some illness this week and we knew that Wellsville would be one of our toughest competitors. We worked hard to stay positive, keep swinging and battle from behind a few times. Both teams played their hearts out. I am super proud of my girls and how they worked together, made necessary adjustments and came out on top tonight.”

The pace was set right from the first set of play, as Wellsville and Bolivar-Richburg traded constant barbs all throughout, with the Lady Lions (3-3) navigating their way out front following a five-point win in the opening set. The momentum continued for Wellsville going into the next set of play, but down the stretch, it was vaporized by a gargantuan run that tilted the balance in the favor of the Lady Wolverines.

Trailing 19-14 at one point during the match, the Lady Wolverines (4-0) right it all back together with nine consecutive points to take the lead away, ultimately for good, to force a 1-1 tie on the Lady Lions with a strong 25-22 finish. The teeter-totter switched directions again in the third set, when the visitors in black and orange took a lead as large as 10 — the biggest advantage held by either side throughout the entire contest, allowing them to keep their cushion intact for a dominant 25-16 win.

The back-and-forth pace settled back in for the fourth set, when both teams worked towards a 15-all tie approaching the midway mark. Bolivar-Richburg found themselves down 24-22 with their backs against the wall and the Lady Lions just one point away from locking up the match. Instead, they fought back, scoring the next four points in a row to force extra serves and the theft of a fourth-set victory to force a fifth and final stanza.

Everything that the Lady Wolverines had established down the homestretch, was put to good use entirely, as they claimed a massive 10-1 lead on the Lady Lions to set the tone, defying a late Lady Lions rally to hold strong with a 15-10 win to remain undefeated on the season with their fourth consecutive victory.

Carmen Crowley was another major driving force behind Bolivar-Richburg’s efforts, especially on defense, as she kept the ball off the floor with 17 digs, pairing them with 19 kills and nine blocks. Kylee Whiting chipped in with 19 more digs to go with five aces. Jayna Thomas (13 digs) furthered the offensive cause with nine more kills, while Willow Worth dished out 23 assists at the front of the net to round off the scoring.

Wellsville was led by Lindsay Stuck on offense, as she posted 11 kills to pair with 14 digs and a pair of aces. Makenna Dunbar did a little bit of everything to keep the gas down for the Lady Lions, contributing nine additional kills along with eight digs, four blocks and three aces, while setter Lexi Irish (nine digs) handed out 33 assists.

Both teams are back on the court Tuesday night, with Bolivar-Richburg remaining at home for a 7:30 p.m. clash with Houghton Academy, while Wellsville hits the road for a 7 p.m. visit to Arkport-Canaseraga.

Cuba-Rushford 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

CUBA — The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were not going to be denied victory again, Friday night. After a dominant performance against Hinsdale in the middle of the week, they would put a wrap to their week in similar fashion with Genesee Valley/Belfast in town for a visit, as they went on and took control right from the beginning to produce a straight-set, 25-6, 25-14, 25-8 win to move to .500 on the campaign.

Igniting the efforts for the Lady Rebels (3-3) was another red hot night from the service line from Kendall Tompkins, who recorded 11 aces to pair with 16 helpers at the front of the net, along with four kills. Jordyn Radomski continued the efforts on the attack with six kills of her own. Arlah Shaffer chipped in with four more aces and two helpers, while Kate Radomski rounded off the scoring with three aces.

Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-3) was paced by a five-dig, four-kill evening from Paizlee Tilton. Aubrey Geoppner furthered the offense’s cause with three more kills. The team will return to action Monday night back over the road, visiting Fillmore in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.

Cuba-Rushford will return to the court themselves, coming up on Tuesday with a trip to Andover, as they visit Andover/Whitesville in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Houghton Academy 3, Hinsdale 0

HINSDALE — Houghton Academy accepted a challenge from host Hinsdale out of the gate on Friday, but after they finished the opening set strong, they continued to harness all the momentum they had built and put it to good use to shape what was a straight-set win over the Lady Bobcats, as they claimed the 25-18, 25-9, 25-15 win on the road.

The Lady Panthers (2-2) saw a brilliant night of offense from Julia Winkens lead the way, as she posted a team-high 11 kills to pair with four digs and a pair of aces. Rebekah Qian chipped in with six more kills of her own, while Ellie Brubaker helped get the offense off and running at the front of the net, handing out 23 big assists.

Statistics for the Lady Bobcats (1-3) were not made available to report upon publication. Hinsdale will return to the court for action again on Thursday, hosting Salamanca at 7:30 p.m.

As for Houghton Academy, they will turn right back around and take their home court by storm again this afternoon, this time with a 1 p.m. visit from Andover/Whitesville.

BOYS SOCCER

Cuba-Rushford 3, Andover/Whitesville 2 (F-OT)

HINSDALE — For almost the entire second half, the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were stuck behind the eight-ball.

They did everything in their power to work their way around Andover/Whitesville, who swiped an early first half lead away from them just before the halftime break. On Friday, the Rebels didn’t hang their heads. They never showed any quit either. They continued to keep plugging and plugging away. Because of their efforts, it gave them a chance to turn the tide when it mattered the most. When time was of the essence, they went ahead to knock on the door of opportunity.

Finn Ricketts answered the call.

The Cuba-Rushford senior came in through the clutch not just once, but twice, as he started a late second half firestorm for the offense that Andover/Whitesville could not stop, scoring a game-tying goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation before handing out his biggest assist of the season in the wee seconds of overtime to win it for the Rebels by a 2-1 count in Hinsdale.

“Anytime you can trail for 39 second half minutes and find a way to win the game, you have to be pretty happy with that,” said Rebels coach Rob Wight. “Credit to Jake Mattison, he had the tough task of man-marking Robert (Childs) tonight and he did a really great job with that. Finn and Carter (Brown) really stepped up in the big moments, and Braxton Clark controlled the game for us in the midfield from start to finish. We created our share of chances, and overall I thought it was a very good performance to get the win.”

Following a lengthy fight for possession in the first half, the Rebels (3-1-1) were the first to get onto the board behind the aid of Robert Childs, who connected with Anderson Seigel on the game-opening strike with 15:08 left to play. The advantage would hold until Andover/Whitesville fired up their engines with less than 10 minutes remaining, scoring back-to-back goals from Brody Vance and Ethan Warriner in a 46-second span, with Colton Calladine receiving an assist on Vance’s game-tying goal at the 6:29 mark.

The lead for Andover/Whitesville (3-2-1) froze in place across nearly all of the second half’s time, as the Rebels made one final push to get the ball rolling again. With Ricketts leading the way, anything was most certainly possible, as the senior delivered a game-tying punch, connecting off a feed passed along by Childs with 45 seconds left in regulation.

Cuba-Rushford was now in control, and in just a matter of seconds, they ended the night on their terms as Ricketts then handed out an assist to Carter Brown for the game-winning haymaker just 39 seconds into overtime to clinch victory — the team’s third in a row. The Rebels would go on to claim a narrow 10-9 advantage in the shots-on-goal department, with Caleb Elliott making eight saves for the win.

For Andover/Whitesville, Skylar Orpet also made eight stops in between the posts, as the team will look to regroup and bounce back this afternoon in a 3 p.m. visit to Houghton Academy.

Coming up on Monday, Cuba-Rushford will look to keep their foot down on the gas when the same Houghton Academy Panthers team comes to visit them in a 5 p.m. contest of their own.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 5, Bolivar-Richburg 1

BELFAST — With rain suspending action in a tight first half battle between Bolivar-Richburg and Genesee Valley/Belfast back at the beginning of the month, the time for the two foes to come together once again and finish what they started came with much better conditions on Friday.

The two teams would remain deadlocked for the remainder of short time left in the opening half before a brand new game settled in to close out the night. But it was an opportunity that Genesee Valley/Belfast would not pass up, as they fired on all cylinders to produce four second half goals to break the first half tie and remain undefeated in regulation play with a 5-1 victory over the Wolverines at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast.

The battle on the pitch picked up with 3:58 left on the clock in the first half, and the score tied at one on each side. After a brief midfield battle to close out the half, the two teams would keep the level playing surface intact going into the break.

But upon their return to the field, Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-0-1) put their foot down and never let off the gas, as they went on to provide a four-goal explosion led by a completed hat trick from Evan Turybury, who also added an assist along the way to record a seven-point night on offense to propel the team to victory at the end of it all.

The four goals for the hosts stemmed off 15 total shots, as they outshot Bolivar-Richburg (1-4-1) by a 15-4 count. In net, Zach Thomas made three saves to record the win, while Ayden Music made 10 saves for the Wolverines.

Both teams are back on the field Tuesday night in a pair of 7 p.m. contests, as Genesee Valley/Belfast will look to remain unbeaten with a visit to Wellsville, while Bolivar-Richburg continues their road swing into Fillmore for a visit with the Eagles.

Fillmore 8, Friendship/Scio 1

FRIENDSHIP — There were plenty of contributions to go around for the Eagles of Fillmore to close out their week of action on Friday. During their visit to Friendship, six different Eagles all navigated their way to the scoresheet with a goal. Among them was Ezra Knapp, who recorded a hat trick to propel the offense toward an 8-1 win over host Friendship/Scio.

All eight goals planted on the Friendship/Scio net transpired off of 21 total shots that Fillmore (3-0-2) applied, as they advanced forth to take a 21-4 advantage. Leading the offense was Knapp, who recorded a three-goal night — two of them coming in the second half of play to further cement the team’s lead.

Jared Boon, Brayden Walton, Isaiah Sisson, Joe Sadler (assist) and Conner Nendza (assist) all had goals to chip in. Connor McCumiskey also added in an assist on the team’s final goal from Nendza.

In net, Brayden Hennard and Ryan Vedder each split time in the net, as the two keepers combined to make three saves, with Hennard’s start being awarded the victory.

For Friendship/Scio (0-7), Deacon Brown made 15 saves. On offense, Conner Blouvet eliminated Fillmore’s shutout bid with 1:05 left remaining with the team’s lone goal. The team will return to action Tuesday night with a 5 p.m. visit to Whitesville to take on host Andover/Whitesville.

Fillmore springs back to action come Monday night, as they hit the road again, this time for a 5 p.m. visit to Arkport-Canaseraga.

GIRLS SOCCER

Cuba-Rushford 5, Andover/Whitesville 1

HINSDALE — They have been in tight battles as of late, but once the second half takes effect, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford know how to turn up the temperature on the pitch. Come Friday night in Hinsdale, the offense put on another relentless display of soccer.

Led by senior Cloey Larabee and her six-point evening for the Lady Rebels, they would take what was a competitive 1-1 tie with Andover/Whitesville going into the break and flip it upside down completely, scoring four monstrous second half goals to send them over the top and towards a 5-0-1 start to their season with a 5-1 home win.

“The ability of these girls to turn games around like this has been impressive,” said Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight. “Andover/Whitesville showed up with a good game plan and had us on our heels for a bit. They are always well coached and prepared by Al (Barber) and Aaron (Rawady), and they’re tough to play. We created some good chances in the second half and did a better job of finishing. It was great to see so many different girls involved in the scoring.”

Chances for each side would come across the first 20 minutes of play, as the battle for midfield possession raged on. But Andover/Whitesville would come away as the leading opportunists first, as Leigha Phelps found the back of the net off a strong pass dished along by Aine Brown close to the midway mark to give them a 1-0 lead to work with.

The Lady Rebels (5-0-1) would fight back and provide a clutch response before the end of time was reached in the first half, as Mireya Rutkowski located the back of the net off a direct kick, knocking the ball in off a loose rebound in front. Haydn Jones was credited with the assist on the score, as both teams went into the break tied at one.

In the last 40 minutes, it was a completely different story.

The hosts in blue and white went full boar on the frontlines, scoring four straight goals to take the lead away from Andover/Whitesville (1-5) for good, with Cloey Larabee having a hand in all four goals, assisting on the first two before scoring the last two herself off a pair of Rutkowski assists in a span of 58 seconds late in the half.

Prior to her scores, the Lady Rebels went on to take the lead for good behind the first pairing of quick strikes beginning at the 28:31 mark, as Molly Kunz connected with the first before Lily Tompkins buried the next goal just 1:27 later. The five goals that found the back of the Andover/Whitesville net came off of 15 total shots, as the hosts went on to claim a 15-5 advantage.

In goal, Annaleece Melton picked up the win behind four saves for Cuba-Rushford. On the opposite end of the pitch, Olivia Waters made 10 saves for Andover/Whitesville, who will look to rebound on Monday back home in Andover with a 6:30 p.m. visit from Jasper-Troupsburg.

The Lady Rebels will look to keep their fire lit come Tuesday night, hitting the road for a 6:30 p.m. visit to Honeoye.

GIRLS TENNIS

Wellsville 5, Addison 0

WELLSVILLE — One night removed from their State Qualifier rematch with Harley Allendale-Columbia, the Lady Lions of Wellsville were at their best once again, as they left their defeat to the Lady Wolves in the rearview mirror and went back to the grindstone to deliver a big 5-0 bounce back win on Friday back home in the Lion’s Den against Addison.

Another dominant display of tennis was what the doctor ordered for the Lady Lions (4-1) in their return home to close out the weekend, as Samantha Bidzerkowny, Hanna Miles and Peyton Cawley all found the win column to lead singles match competition. Bidzerkowny avoided a second set battle from Alex Boutelle at first singles to come away victorious with a gritty 6-0, 6-4 win. At second singles, Miles claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kaylee Keech, while Cawley was dominant in a 6-0, 6-1 win over Chelsea Keech at third singles.

Wellsville would also lay claim on a doubles match sweep along the way, with the first doubles team of Caitlin Bittel and Sarah Mattison scoring a 6-1, 6-1 win over Claire Thompson and Zadie Vitulli, while the second doubles duo of Jaiden Edwards and Shayla Cowan finished off the match win with a tough 6-0, 6-4 victory over Leah Baker and Gracie Davis.

The Lady Lions are back in action on Monday with a trip to Houghton University to visit the Fillmore Lady Eagles at 5 p.m.

Singles

1. Samantha Bidzerkowny (WLSV) def. Alex Boutelle (ADD), 6-0, 6-4.

2. Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Kaylee Keech (ADD), 6-1, 6-1.

3. Peyton Cawley (WLSV) def. Chelsea Keech (ADD), 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles

1. Caitlin Bittel/Sarah Mattison (WLSV) def. Claire Thompson/Zadie Vitulli (ADD), 6-1, 6-1.

2. Jaiden Edwards/Shayla Cowan (WLSV) def. Leah Baker/Gracie Davis (ADD), 6-0, 6-4.

Avoca-Prattsburgh 4, Fillmore 1

PRATTSBURGH — Claire Schilke put on a fine performance for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore, but host Avoca-Prattsburgh was at the very top of their game Friday night, as they took all four matches in action on their home grounds in Prattsburgh to score their sixth win in their first seven matches of the season, claiming the 4-1 decision.

“I am really proud of Claire tonight,” Lady Eagles coach Randy Crouch said. “The result does not indicate the step forward she took. Genevieve (Dabby) is a really tough player for them, and Claire made her work for every point she received. She played some beautiful points, and now, we just need to develop some more consistency.”

Avoca-Prattsburgh took charge from start to finish against the Lady Eagles (3-3), as Genevieve Dabby’s hard-fought 6-1, 6-2 victory at first singles over Claire Schilke helped lead the way. Olivia Mullen followed right behind her with the second and final singles win for the Lady Titans, going past Molly Mahoney at second singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win.

The hosts in black and gold also recorded a doubles match sweep to finish off the overall victory, as Camryn Moore and Mariah Bryan took winning honors at first doubles with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Fillmore’s Kirra Bentley and Lena Tucker. At second doubles, Nataley Patoine and Gabrielle Wheaton overcame a tough first-set presentation from Greta Kettinger and Tori Tetta, but went on to secure a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Fillmore’s lone victory came via forfeit at third singles, which was credited to Indigo Knapp.

The Lady Eagles are back home Monday night at Houghton University, as they play host to Wellsville in a 5 p.m. first serve.

Singles

1. Genevieve Dabby (A-P) def. Claire Schilke (FIL), 6-1, 6-2.

2. Olivia Mullen (A-P) def. Molly Mahoney (FIL), 6-1, 6-3.

3. Indigo Knapp (FIL) by for.

Doubles

1. Camryn Moore/Mariah Bryan (A-P) def. Kirra Bentley/Lena Tucker (FIL), 6-2, 6-2.

2. Nataley Patoine/Gabrielle Wheaton (A-P) def. Greta Kettinger/Tori Tetta (FIL), 6-4, 6-1.