WHITESBORO SWEEPS ONEIDA-TEAMS CROWNED TVL CO-CHAMPIONS
Warrior nation celebrates Senior Class!
Jeff Pexton-MHTS/PGI Photo
The Whitesboro Lady Warriors volleyball team swept the Lady Indians of Oneida three games to none tonight at Whitesboro High School to claim a share of the Tri-Valley League Championship.
Both Oneida and Whitesboro finished league play with (7-1) records, with their only losses coming to each other.
Back on December 17th the Oneida defeated Whitesboro by a score of three games to two to take the TVL lead.
Since that time, both teams have won each and every match they have played, setting up tonight’s showdown.
Whitesboro senior Mary Pastorelli (2) puts away a kill during game three action.
A win by Oneida tonight would have given the Lady Indians the outright TVL title, while a win by Whitesboro would create a co-championship situation.
Adding to the drama at the beautifully refurbished Whitesboro gym tonight was the fact that it was also senior night, where the defending Section III, Class “A” Champion Warriors were saying goodbye to six very special players, finishing up their final season in “Warrior Blue”.
Whitesboro’s Brandi Blaszek, Carly Lonczak, Mary Pastorelli, Michelle Jones, Kelly O’Hara and Rebekah Gellar were honored with their families prior to this evening’s contest.
After the balloons and emotional testimonials drifted into the rafters, it was time to play some serious volleyball and play these two clubs did.
Whitesboro jumped out quickly in the opening game, grabbing a 8-2 early lead on the visitors and the Warriors cruised to a 25-20 win.
The game one win by Whitesboro came on the overpowering front line play of Brandi Blaszek, who accounted for seven kills in the opening game.
Once again, as has been the case all season, teammate Carly Lonczak was the queen of the assist, notching eight helpers in game one tonight.
The second game saw the kids in orange come out with a new-found fury, jumping out to a 14-5 lead over the home team.
Kills by Katie Relyea and Mary Sheridan early in game two paced Oneida to the early lead, which seemed to set Whitesboro back on their collective heels.
Just when it looked like Oneida was going to walk away with game two, the Lady Warriors roared right back with 11 unanswered points to take a 16-14 lead.
Again it was Blaszek up front doing her thing, but this game she got a whole bunch of net help from teammates Mary Pastorelli, Kelly O’Hara and sophomore Madison Kosuda.
Whitesboro’s Cassie Ruiu (9) hammers a game one serve.
Of course Lonczak was right there with her usual plethora of assists in the second game and Rebekah Gellar was stellar in the Libero position, making several key digs in game two, which the Warriors came back to win by a score of 25-19.
The huge rally and eventual victory in game two brought the huge home crowd to its feet in support of their Warriors. The opposite was true of Oneida, which seemed to have the wind taken from its sails.
Sensing a share of the TVL title was within their reach, Whitesboro took the third game by storm.
The Lady Warriors led from the opening serve and went on to a convincing 25-19 win. completing the three game sweep of Oneida and grabbing a share of the 2013 TVL Volleyball crown.
Brandi Blaszek finished with 19 kills on the night, while teammate Carley Lonczak complimented the offense with 31 assists. Mary Pastorelli led the Whitesboro back line with 17 digs tonight.
Oneida’s Mary Sheridan finished with 7 kills and 28 digs on the evening, while teammate Marissa Smith finished with 9 assists.
Both teams finished the regular season with (7-1) records to share the TVL title.
Whitesboro improved to (12-1) overall with a non-league match left against Camden. Oneida finished the regular season at (13-1).
A win over Camden on Saturday will likely give Whitesboro the number one seed in the upcoming Section III playoffs, given the fact they hold a 5 games to 3 head to head advantage over Oneida on the season.
The tournament pairings will be announced on Sunday.
Oneida’s Mary Sheridan (2) picks up a game three dig.
Whitesboro 3 Oneida 0
Box Score
1 2 3 Final
Oneida 20 19 19 0
Whitesboro 25 25 25 3
Big crowd on hand for big match in Whitesboro!
