Mt. Markham, RFA win winter volleyball titles
The Mt. Markham Mustangs are Section III champions once again, having completed a 19-0 winter volleyball season with a 3-0 sweep of Beaver River in showdown of Class C unbeatens Saturday in Watertown.
The title in the sixth won by the Mustangs, all in the last 20 years, and the first since the 2019 team also went undefeated.
"I think we saved our best for last," Mt. Markham coach Terry McKane said. "We prepared very well for the finals."
More:Section 3 girls volleyball scores for the 2022-23 season
The Mt. Markham win came in the first of four championship matches played in the Case Middle School gym. Rome Free Academy won the Class A title, top seed Chittenango won Class B, and Sandy Creek repeated as the Class D champion.
Playing the 10 a.m. match against the Frontier League champion, the Mustangs shook off their long bus ride and both started and finished strong. They sided out with a Trinity Bailey kill for the first point of the match and followed with back-to-back aces from Abbie Ainslie that went untouched. A 7-0 start set the tone for a 25-10 win in Game 1 that was followed by 25-14 and 25-22 scores in games 2 and 3.
"They showed what they can do," McKane said of his team.
The Mustangs lost games in only three of their matches this season and did not play five games until their semifinal win over Canastota.
Mt. Markham had a commanding lead in Saturday's final game before Beaver River (16-1) closed to within one point at 23-22. The Mustangs ended the Beavers run with a block by Kaitlyn Humphreville and Bailey added another block on match point.
Bailey finished with 10 kills and was error-free on 10 serves with the two aces. Ainslie served 20-for-20 with five aces and a team-leading 22 digs; Paige Korosec had eight kills and two blocks; and setters Addison Jones and Haley Otis each had 10 assists.
Ainslie, Bailey and Kayla Wellenstein are seniors on the roster for Mt. Markham which has gone unbeaten through its last five regular seasons.
Mt. Markham previously won sectional titles in Class C in 2004, 2015 and 2019, and in Class B in 2007 and 2008.
The finals are scheduled to return to Watertown next winter.
RFA wins first title
The Rome Free Academy Black Knights are Section III's winter champions in Class A volleyball for the first time after beating Tri-Valley League rival Whitesboro 28-26, 25-21, 17-25, 25-21 in four games Saturday.
The Black Knights, seeded fourth among eight teams, finished a 14-3 season by beating the two teams that had beaten them during the regular season. Rome Free Academy was a 3-1 semifinal winner at New Hartford - the top seed had previously beaten the Black Knights twice, and had split two regular season matches with Whitesboro, the No. 3 seed.
Junior Elizabeth Hanba put down 23 kills for the Black Knights in the final while classmate Kassity Cruz had 12 kills and sophomore setter Thylia Keoviengsamay had 41 assists. Chase Calandra and Alyce Frost each added five kills and Miranda McCormack had four. Keoviengsamay and Chase Calandra each served two of the team's six aces while Shannen Calandra and Keoviengsamay had 40 and 25 digs, respectively.
Eva Quackenbush led Whitesboro (16-3) with 21 kills, Kylee DeCarr had 15 with three aces and 23 digs, and Riley Collis added 14 with four blocks. Tessa Nash was credited with 44 assists.
Whitesboro, the last Tri-Valley League team to lose a match this season, entered Saturday's contest with eight consecutive victories. Rome Free Academy finished the season with wins in its final four contests following a Feb. 2 loss to New Hartford.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Mt. Markham, RFA win Section 3 winter volleyball titles
