Churchville-Chili never trailed through the first two sets and came from as many as six points down in the third before completing a 25-16, 25-13, 27-25 sweep over Spencerport to win the Class B1 Section V boys volleyball championship.
A block by junior Caleb Smith gave the Saints a six-point lead in the first set and they extended that to seven on a block from senior Griffin Stella and nine on an ace by Smith. Seniors John Keele and John Bagley finished off the game with a kill and ace for the final two points.
The Saints carried that momentum into the second set as Keele registered kills on three consecutive points early followed by a kill and ace by senior Benjamin Munding and later consecutive kills by Stella to finish off the easy win.
The third set was tied 4-4 before Spencerport found their offensive rhythm as sophomore Sam Lane had four kills, junior Alex Bertino, senior Alex Caton, and junior Andrew Bodensteiner had kills, and sophomore Conlan Shirley two blocks to stake the Rangers to an 18-13 lead.
But the Saints rebounded as a Smith block got them to within one of the lead and a Munding kill tied the set at 21-21. The two teams traded points before the Rangers led 24-22 on an out-of-bounds hit and net serve. But the Saints staved off three set points as Stella registered a kill to cut the lead to one and senior Chase Weiler tied the set at 24-24 on his only kill of the contest.
Keele put the Saints up with another kill before they completed the sweep on an out-of-bounds kill attempt for the 27-25 win.
“Just keeping our energy up, playing loose, and swinging hard,” Keele said about the first two wins for the Saints. “The third set was more about them getting a few more points and gaining momentum.”
“They brought it and were ready to go,” Saints head coach Kim Eichas said about her squad. “Our senior leadership took over and we’ve been here before, so we just did our job.
“All year long when this team has been backed into a corner, they have come out swinging and everybody contributes.”
Stella led the Saints with ten kills while Keele had nine. Senior Joseph Wollke dished out 27 assists and added eight digs and classmate Bagley led with 12 digs and added two aces. Smith finished with a team-best six blocks while Munding added five kills and two blocks.
The Rangers were led by sophomore Sam Lane, with Caton adding five kills and three aces, senior Ryan McRae four kills with two blocks, Bodensteiner three kills and two blocks, and junior Henry Lane 22 assists.
The Saints Wollke was named Class B1 tournament Most Valuable Player with teammates Bagley and Stella along with Rangers’ Henry Lane and Robert Jackson plus Brockport senior Troy Leibert also named to the All-Tournament Team.
