Volleyball: Horace Greeley outlasts Harrison in five-set Class A semifinal thriller
HARRISON - It's been a dream season for both Harrison and Horace Greeley, two programs that have shaken up the section with their rise from finishing with losing records last year to commanding the respect of opponents as winning contenders this season.
It was fitting that the two faced off against one another, with a trip to the section finals on the line, and they both delivered to the spirited crowd in attendance.
Only one team could advance and that right belonged to the Quakers — after a hard-fought, back-and-forth match that went the distance. The third-seeded Quakers defeated the second-seeded Huskies in a five-set thriller on Thursday, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11.
"We played amazing, we played as a team," Horace Greeley senior Emma Rose said. "It's crazy coming from last year to all the way this year. The amount of change and progress that we've made is insane."
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Insane is one way to put it.
Horace Greeley finished 5-14 last season, and just 3-10 in a COVID-abbreviated campaign the year before that.
Expectations were uncertain this fall, but this season, the Quakers won a share of the league title and now, they're making their first trip to a Section 1 championship match in more than several decades and they hope to come away with their first title since 1982.
Regardless of what happens in Saturday's Section 1 finals, they hope it's just the beginning of a renaissance at Horace Greeley.
"Our entire program has gotten so much better," Horace Greeley sophomore Hope Suh said. "The JV teams are improving like the varsity is improving, so it just goes to show the later years will definitely be great too."
Their finals trip didn't come easy. The Huskies were relentless, and the Quakers' composure and persistence would be tested.
Down 2-1 for the match, the Huskies stormed back and won the fourth set in commanding fashion to force a final fifth set. Harrison finished with conviction and capitalized on multiple unforced errors by the Quakers.
Horace Greeley regrouped after another back-and-forth start to the fifth set, and despite a late scare from the Huskies, the Quakers held on for the win.
"We did our best and we definitely left everything we had out there," Harrison senior Sabrina Kalanz said. "Wasn't what we hoped for, but it was better than we thought we'd do and farther than we thought we'd go, so I'm proud of us. ... We were the 15th-seed last year and we made it to the second seed this year, and we fought harder than we could have and we made it so much farther than we did last season."
What it means
Horace Greeley will play top-seeded Lakeland on Saturday at Mahopac High School for the Section 1 Class A championship. The match is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start.
Player of the game
Elizabeth Fallon, Horace Greeley: The senior hitter had a game-high 29 kills and eight digs. She was consistent through the match and came through in big moments, whether it was a kill to fuel their big runs in the sets they won or to hinder Harrison from building momentum.
By the numbers
No. 3 Horace Greeley (18-2) — Jaida Cekic had 22 kills, 10 digs and three aces. Emma Rose dished out 60 assists and 11 digs. Hope Suh tallied 27 digs and two assists. Ace Tillotson had eight kills and three blocks. Claire Fallon chipped in 13 digs. Chloe Snyder had three kills, while Rebecca Humphries and Rose Kory each had a pair of digs.
No. 2 Harrison (16-3) — Lily Seibel had 39 assists, 20 digs, three kills and an ace. Cassandra Sanscartier tallied 37 digs. Sabrina Kalanz had seven kills and four blocks. Kyra Repa finished with 13 kills, 21 digs, two aces and two blocks. Alex Shoshi had seven kills, an ace, and 11 digs. Cydney Clarke had four kills and three blocks. Olivia Naporano had eight kills, four digs and four aces. Christina Zazzarino had four digs, Gabby Fraulini chipped in two digs.
They said it
"Constantly reminded them about what they did: change the way Harrison volleyball is represented in our section," said Harrison coach Siobhan Saccio, whose Huskies doubled their win totals from last season and captured their first league title since 2015. "They understand the role they played in making sure we are no longer a blip on the radar, and turned out results like they did. We have three seniors that were integral parts of our program and a huge reason we got to where we are, as well as juniors and sophomores who are leaders."
"Their abilities to adjust, run plays and how scrappy they are," Horace Greeley coach Daniela Castro said of what impresses her the most of this year's Quakers. "They're very team-oriented with a great attitude. They're adjustable and adaptable. ... They have such high energy and this drive about them that's kind of contagious. They're very focused, and they dance a lot, but that's just kind of their thing. If you see them dancing, that's just them relaxing and getting ready to play."
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Volleyball: Greeley outlasts Harrison in Section 1 semifinal
