Volleyball: After past heartbreaks, Cornwall headed to states after defeating Lakeland
CROSS RIVER - As the old saying goes, "act like you've been there before," and Cornwall certainly has.
The 18-time reigning Section 9 champs have made it to plenty of state regional finals over the years during their impressive streak, but the last couple have been heartbreaking.
In 2019, Hen Hud rallied from a 2-0 deficit to stun them in a five-set marathon. Last season, Panas staged a late comeback to down Cornwall in another five-set battle. This time, though, no heartbreak or comebacks, just regional title euphoria for the Dragons.
They defeated Lakeland, 25-18, 23-25, 25-9, 25-21.
"Every year is different, but I know we've been kind of struggling a little bit with our regional matches," Cornwall coach Jeff Moulton said. "There's a lot of stress in those kinds of matches, you never know how it's going to go, but this group was resilient, pulled through and it was just a big team effort with this team."
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After taking the first set in convincing fashion, Lakeland settled down and battled back. The Hornets scrapped for every dig and point, and their persistence paid off with a win in a tightly-contested set to even up the match.
Cornwall took the lead in a pivotal third set. Once it got in front in a close fourth and final set, it managed to hang on for the win. The Hornets never made it easy though, with plenty of long volleys and rallies. Cornwall got the better of Lakeland in most of those hard-fought stretches, and it provided a momentum boost to finish."Those are the best for momentum," Cornwall senior Cara Malone said. "After you win one of those, you feel like you can win every point for the rest of the game."
The win was special enough for Moulton to surprise his team with a dance routine to Beyonce's "Single Ladies," a homage to what he did for the Dragons to help loosen them up before playing in the 2018 final four.
"I don't think it's sunk in yet, because I'm really happy," Cornwall senior Karina Liba said. "I don't think it'll sink in until we're actually there and on the court."
Lakeland battled to the end, but its historic season, which included its first Section 1 title and state regional final appearance, comes to a close.
"It's all about these kids, they came in this year and wanted to see how far they could go," Lakeland coach Steve Fallo said. "They gave everything each and every night, and I'll always remember that team as being the one to do it. It's all on them, they played great from start to finish and today was not an indication of the entire season."
What it means
Cornwall is headed to its first NYSPHSAA final four since 2018. The two-day championship event is scheduled for Nov. 19-20 at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Player of the game
Karina Liba and Alex Hinchcliff, Cornwall: They were vital defensively and provided a scoring punch with nearly identical stat lines to help lead the way. Liba had 15 kills, 16 digs and an ace, while Hinchcliff had 17 kills, 11 digs and two aces.
By the numbers
Cornwall (18-0) — Kristina Garcia had 27 assists, 10 digs and three aces. Victoria Hinchcliff had 23 assists, eight digs and an ace. Zakara Masibo had 11 kills and two blocks. Lily Byrne tallied seven kills, seven blocks and a dig. Cara Malone provided two kills, seven digs and a block. Julie Santafernia had 27 digs.
Lakeland (20-4) — Kayla Jennings had 11 kills and 28 digs. Emma Dedushaj had 20 assists. Kelly Mallon added 15 kills and 20 digs. Olivia Berkson dished out eight assists, while Sarah Cahill chipped in 18 digs.
What it means
"We were a little nervous in the beginning, all the credit to Cornwall," Fallo said. "They came to play and you can't counter size all the time. They swung and defensively, I thought Cornwall did an outstanding job. We played the best we could, but they were just better today."
"We really did want to win, this was different from other games," Cornwall's Alex Hinchcliff said. "We were so close to going to states. Everyone was on the line for that. We put all our trust into each other and expect so much from each other, and obviously, that shows on the court and how we have such a strong connection."
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Volleyball: Cornwall is states-bound after defeating Lakeland
