By HUNTER O. LYLE
SALAMANCA, NY – Entering the fifth and final, the Gators were in the hot seat.
After weathering an early gut punch they managed to rally, forcing the pressure back onto Salamanca as they took a two-to-one set lead. However, the pendulum had swung back and now they were staring at a do-or-die scenario themselves.
With the race to 15 on, the Allegany-Limestone volleyball team grabbed the final set with white knuckles and willed their way to a final and decisive win over the Warriors, walking out of hostile territory with their second win of the season.
“I just told our girls to stay aggressive. One thing I think we did tonight was give 110 percent,” said Allegany-Limestone head coach Tara Battone. “We’ve kind of had a hard time finding our rhythm (this season) but I felt like tonight we finally found it. They all were doing really great things.”
Flash back two hours prior and both the Gators and Warriors entered the gym in similar scenarios. Through their respective three games, both squads had been put through the ringer and emerged with a 1-2 record as they looked to adapt from significant roster turnover.
“The biggest thing we’ve had to work on is just playing as a team. Our (players who graduated) had been playing together for six years, year round,” said Battone, who graduated nine of her eleven varsity roster pieces from 2025. “These girls haven’t all been playing together as long, but I think slowly we’re getting there.”
In the early goings, both teams quickly butted heads. While A-L jumped out to a slim lead with a handful of well-placed shots and taps over the net, Salamanca kept within striking distance, scoring tick-for-tack midway through the set.
Falling behind by five at 12-7, however, the Warriors found their sought-after spark. Kicked off with pressure from Charli Rae Hill and Arabelle Reynolds on the outside, Salamanca strung together four unanswered points, the longest of the night thus far, to pull within one point of the lead. Although their streak was briefly interrupted, they snapped back one point later with a slam from Hill. Stepping to the service line, Jaelynn Cooper led the Warriors down the final stretch with impeccable placement, seeing five serves go unreturned as Salamanca poured on an 11-4 run.
“Overall, I think our serving has improved compared to the last couple of games,” said Salamanca head coach Courtney Valent, whose team went on to win the first set 25-20. “We still missed a few at crucial times, but overall I think it’s better than last week and even the week before.”
Although the second set opened up much the same, with both teams trading points in rapid succession, the Gators swiftly found their rebuttal. With the set knotted at 7-7, A-L broke open their own run by cashing in on their opponents mistakes as well as a few hard-hit slams from Summer Rhow.
Coupled with a handful of aces from Leora Dreher and Morgan Keith, a 4-0 run turned into 6-0 before culminating in a 11-2 scoring streak that put the Gators ahead 18-10. Despite seeing a flash in the pan from the Warriors, A-L carried their momentum to a 25-19 equalizer.
“We were finally starting to hit our deep serves. I’m trying to get them to swing a little harder,” said Battone. “The big thing was that we were covering the blocks and our middle hitter, Mya Hayes, was really out there swinging away and getting everything right where it needed to be.”
Through the next two sets, the Gators and Warriors exchanged blows via rock fight. The third saw a start-to-finish game of runs, as both teams getting hot and trading carving out large swaths of points at a time. While A-L ultimately came away with a 25-21 victory to go up 2-1, the Warriors responded in the fourth, continuing their work from the service line – which saw Joella Jimerson open with three consecutive aces – to tie the set series with a 25-21 win of their own.
Walking back out onto the court for the decisive fifth set, the Gators had just a loose grasp on the momentum. But when they swiftly looked to change that.
Once again, the opening points were traded in tandem. Both teams scored back-and-forth, neither gaining much of an advantage through the initial five points. However, leaning on volleys of attrition, A-L slowly started to inch away.
With the help of an Avery Gonzalez ace and two hard hit shots from their front line, the Gators created another run, this time pulling away 9-4. They would continue to add to their lead, eventually perching at game-point, 14-6, but the Warriors had one last rally left in the tank.
Carried by high-flying and powerful shots from Hill and Ayla Newark, Salamanca quickly chipped away at the deficit, turning an eight-point gap to just three with five unanswered points. But right when the finish line came into view, they faltered and one missed rotation ultimately put the night away. After five back-and-forth sets, the Gators emerged victorious.
“We just have to keep playing as a team and stay aggressive, and we have to bring a lot of power to everything that we do. Our serves, our hits and we need to keep cheering each other on,” said Battone. “If there’s one thing I can say about these girls it’s that if they make a mistake, they own it, they don’t blame each other. They have such great attitudes and I think that’ll translate to wins.”
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