Olean comes up empty in rematch with Panthers

By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com

OLEAN, NY – A month after their initial meeting, the Olean and Portville volleyball teams circled back for a rematch, however, the sequel ended much like the original, with the Panthers etching out a clean-sheet sweep. 

The Huskies and Panthers met just over three weeks prior and in the time since Portville’s 3-0 win at home, both teams have racked up a handful of wins. While Portville has continued to ascend towards the spot atop the Chautauqua Cattaraugus Athletic Association standings, Olean is not far behind, going 5-1 in their last six and sitting in fifth in the league. 

“After each game, we know exactly what to work on and we fix it and make it better for the next time out. All I can hope for out of (the team) is continued improvement,” said Olean head coach Michelle Acierno. “Everytime we have a tough game, we go back to practice and try to hammer out the things we need to and hope to get better.”

The Huskies’ focus and preparation showed up immediately as they jumped out to an early set control. Getting up for second block attempts, weathering the Panthers’ shots from above the net and facilitating the ball with ease, Olean’s well-rounded attack held them in front, albeit, just narrowly at 7-5. Even when the Panthers seemed to turn it up a notch, continuing to send heavy barrages of spikes and slams overhead, the Huskies ground out long volleys, scraping away points of forcing their opponents to earn their own. 

“We definitely practiced a lot of defense,” said Acierno. “We know (Portville) runs their offense really quick so we wanted to be ready for that.”

However, the patented Portville power could only be contained for so long. Finding the set knotted at 14-14 on an Olean miscue, the Panthers started to lean into their strength and chemistry. Operating as a well-oiled machine, they repeatedly controlled the rallies before setting up thunderous slams from a variety of hitters. 

Forcing the ball through undefendable gaps on the court or seeing block attempts fall out of bounds, the Panthers intensity at the net sparked a run of five unanswered points to grab their largest lead of the night. Then swapping between hard hit spikes and tactical tips into space, and brushing past a late Huskie run, their streak carried out to a 25-21 first set win. 

“Half the girls out there were part of the state championship team last year and I think it just takes a minute for them to settle into those roles and get comfortable with each other,” said Portville head coach Paul Mann. “What I saw tonight was our four captains really show up and start to lead.”

In the second, Olean returned to their formidable presence again and held strong against the Panthers initial force. Salvaging possessions and turning in kills back-and-forth, the Huskies stayed in stride with Portville, taking a slight 10-8 advantage. 

But after matching Portville blow-for-blow with spikes from Alyx Henzel and Elizabeth Bailey, Olean’s hitters settled into a lull. Constantly missing their mark, sending shots into the net or out of bounds, the Huskies’ offense went cold and in the void, Portville seized. Taking their first lead at 12-11, the Panthers refused to look back, again tacking on eight unanswered points in a run that culminated in a 15-3 streak and a 25-14 second set win.

“One of our greatest challenges has been sustaining momentum. We get in our heads. We have all the skill in the world but sometimes we get frustrated, not even with each other but with themselves,” said Acierno. “We just lost momentum but I think how we came out in the first set is an example of what we’re capable of, we just need to learn how to sustain that.” 

With one set separating them from their seventh victory of the year, the Panthers finished the night near flawlessly. Despite another early standoff, Portville quickly outpaced their hosts with another massive unretaliated effort before swapping in their youth to close out the night. The third and final set was decided 25-17 Panthers. 

Portville was led by Leigha Stives with nine kills alongside three aces and three digs while Gaitley Maiolo ended with eight kills and five digs. Ana Haynes chipped in 22 digs during the win while Marissa Carls ran the floor with 25 assists and five kills. 

As both teams near the finish line, with Portville having seven games left and Olean just five, the time for final tweaks and adjustments is drawing close. However, while the regular season is winding down, there is always time for growth and improvement.

“If we can play other teams like how we just played Portville, I think that we’ll continue to find success,” said Acierno. “There’s just a few more things to iron out. The rest of the season is just learning from games and fixing things at practice.”