Friday night in Massena, the four Section X champions, one from each class, met to compete for the overall section title. The Canton Bears varsity volleyball team beat Ogdensburg in the first round in three sets, 25-14,26-24,25-19, their first win over the Blue Devils this season. The two teams met twice in the regular season and Ogdensburg won both, along with the section title for class B. Canton, the class C champs, came into the match ready to get revenge for their earlier losses. Coming off a five set victory for the sectional title, the Bears looked to be offensively minded and that they did.
This match was filled with service aces and kills from the hitters. Gretchen Warner and Sydney Lorenc had seven and six kills. Setter Kelsea Whittier had 13 assists and hitter Mattigan Porter had four aces. This high energy win led the Bears to play for the overall Section X championship. After Canton’s game finished, Massena, Class A champ, faced Chateaugay, Class D champ, with Massena winning in three sets. Canton then went on to play Massena on their home court. Last season the Bears faced Massena for the overall championship and lost in four sets.
This match was a different story. Canton battled through many long rallies and hard serves but lost the first two sets, 13-25, 19-25. The next two sets Canton used all of their offensive weapons to win, 25-14, 25-14. The fifth set was back and forth but the Red Raiders closed out the game with strong serving and the five set match ended 16-25. The match was hard fought and although Canton didn’t come out with the intended success, the match was good preparation for their upcoming state playoff game. This was also the first time Canton has taken Massena to five sets which shows their growth as a program.
Versus Massena, Canton’s libero Gabby Rauth had 14 digs and received 12 serves. Warner had 13 kills, and Lorenc and Jilly DiSalvo each added five kills. Setter Kelsea Whittier had 16 assists and the team as a whole recorded a record 37 digs. The team hopes to build off these numbers and record even more kills and aces to be successful against Lake George on Thursday in Gloversville at 7 p.m. Go Bears!
On Friday Section X also handed out awards, the following members of Canton’s team were recognized:
Grace Franklin: Sportsmanship Award, Athlete of Distinction
Sydney Lorenc: Second Team All Northern, Athlete of Distinction
Rorie Newman: Athlete of Distinction
Gabby Rauth: Athlete of Distinction
Gretchen Warner: First Team All Northern, Athlete of Distinction
Kelsea Whittier: Second Team All Northern, Athlete of Distinction, Patty Baldwin Award Finalist
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