In the Class C final Thursday night, the Canton Golden Bears won three straight sets against Salmon River, posting scores of 25-3, 25-17, 25-10.
The Bears were clearly the stronger team, but Salmon River gave them some work in the second set. Canton’s team is loaded with skilled players and a finely tuned team dynamic and though the Shamrocks had some talented hitters and strong defense, they were no match for Canton.
Hitters Katie Bennett and Ava Hoy, two heavy hitters all season brought their game Thursday. Bennett supplied 10 kills, 1 ace and a block. Hoy had 4 kills, a block and added 10 serving points. Bennett has given the Bears 175 kills this year, and Hoy is close behind with 139. Hoy leads the ace tally with 83 and Mattigan Porter and Bennett are close behind with 68 and 62 aces respectively.
Canton’s strong starting serving line-up never disappoints. Hoy, followed by setter Mattigan Porter and opposite hitter Riley Taylor consistently rack up serving points in their games, with the playoff game being no exception. Taylor had an exceptional run in the Section Ten game, with 15 consecutive points served and 19 overall for the night. Taylor closed off the first and second set. Taylor leads the team in points served for the year with 160. Mattigan Porter contributed 19 assists in the playoff game and also added 5 aces and served up 5 points. Porter has provided the most assists this year, with 264 and is second in points served with 144.
Canton remains unbeaten this year with a 19-0 record that includes their two playoff games. Saturday the #1 seed Bears play in the Section X overall finals in Massena at 11:30 am against the #4 seed Red Raiders. In the 10:00 am game the #2 seed, Class B Champion Malone Huskies take on the Class D Champion, # 3 seed Chateauguay Bulldogs. Section X Awards will take place at 1:00 pm and the Overall championship game will be played following the awards at 2:00 pm.
GO BEARS!!
Plaindealer Sports 