Lady Panthers sweep Falconer for 11th consecutive Sectional title
By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
JAMESTOWN, NY – The old adage is it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row. Some would also say it’s hard to win 11 consecutive Sectional titles in a row. However, the Portville volleyball team would disagree as they swept Falconer in the Class C Finals to achieve both.
Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, the No. 1 Lady Panthers have yet to lose a set. Cruising past Randolph in the quarterfinals and Cattaraugus-Little Valley in the semifinals, Portville drew a rematch with the No. 6 Lady Golden Falcons. During their run, Falconer had played near perfect ball, sweeping Allegany-Limestone and Roy-Hart before beating Chautauqua Lake 3-1 to make it to the finals. While the Lady Golden Falcons geared up for an attempted underdog victory, Portville remained cool, calm and collected ahead of the matchup.
“The locker room was loud. It’s always loud,” said Portville head coach Kelly Unverdorben about the team atmosphere before the game. “We talked a little bit about a thing or two, not a lot. We’ll just make a quick reminder of what we want to do and let it go, relax and enjoy the moment. That’s all you can do at this point.”
In the initial moments of the initial set, it seemed as if the Lady Panthers would continue to dominate just as they have all season, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead. However, Falconer would prove just how ready they were for the Sectional stage as they fought tooth and nail to keep pace. Sooner rather than later, their efforts paid off with four consecutive kills to take a slim 12-10 lead.
From there, both the Lady Panthers and the Lady Golden Falcons battled through long volleys and hard fought kills to get any advantage they could on the scoreboard. After another tie at 14-14, Falconer would embark on another run, this time 7-2, to take a 21-16 lead. With the pressure as well as the noise building in the packed gymnasium, it seemed as if Portville would lose their first set of the playoffs.
Backed into a corner, however, the Lady Panthers slowly chipped away at the deficit with big slams from Ali Haynes and a fluid offense that contained the attack. Following a few high-stress, high-intensity moments, the scoreboard was knotted once again, this time at 25-25. Riding the momentum, Portville sealed the comeback with a slam from Laney Vincent and an ace from Mia Rhinehart.
“We expected that out of (Falconer.) They’re a good team, a good program, well coached and we knew they’d be coming to fight,” said Unverdorben. “It was just a battle but we had some unforced errors. Our big hitters were struggling a little bit to connect with the setter. They had a bit of an issue there early but we got it together.”
Getting a hard-fought win under their belt, the Lady Panthers returned to their true form in the second set. Despite giving up a handful of points early, Portville amassed a 14-4 lead with the help of their powerhouse hitters up front. Although the Lady Golden Falcons would find small clusters of points late in the set, it seemed as if nothing could stop Portville from taking over. After a close first set, the Lady Panthers got their second win at 25-10.
“I just reminded them to relax. We had the upper hand now,” said Unverdorben on her message to the team in between sets. “Whoever takes that first set can make or break the night. We just needed to take a deep breath, relax, do our thing and play ball.”
Sitting on the brink of elimination, Falconer shook off the loss and focused on evening the score. Similar to the first set, it became a back-and-forth battle at the net. With both teams swapping points tick-for-tack, neither could take a significant lead early and mid-way through the contest it was deadlocked at 11.
Seeing a mounting wave on the other side of the net, the Lady Panthers forced the ball to Haynes, who routinely slammed shots back down to Earth with an echoing force. The tandem of Haynes and Vincent broke the stalemate, outscoring Falconer 7-2 to put themselves in front by four.
“It’s funny because we remind ourselves all the time that we have Ali on our side of the net, so if we pass well we’ll be okay,” said Unverdorben. “She’s awesome. She’s been great this year for us in every part of her game. I think a lot of teams say ‘let’s just serve at her, make her play the most balls,’ and I say go ahead. She’s tall, she’ll pick up a lot of stuff down the line and then her hitting is a big bonus.”
Although they weren’t able to keep the Lady Golden Falcons off the scoreboard completely, the Lady Panthers were able to keep in front, outlasting their opponents for a 25-20 win, a sweep and yet another Sectional title.
Haynes ended with a team-high 22 kills and 17 digs while her counterpart Vincent had 13 kills and 10 digs. Adrianna Ensell had four kills and 23 digs alongside three aces and Mia Rhinehart had 19 digs while Addi Walker ended with 44 assists.
Up next for the Lady Panthers is the Far-West Regionals, where they will take on the Section V winners before hopefully heading to the New York State Final Four. That contest will take place on Friday, Nov. 15.
“Our preparation mostly stays the same because the oldest kids on our team have traveled with the past teams and I think every player and champion has left the program a little bit better than they found it,” said Unverdorben. “They’re great role models for our underclassmen.”
