Hey guys!

What a night! I was at Pelham High tonight at the Westlake-Croton-Harmon game. In a 25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23 win, the Wildcats advanced to the Regional quarterfinals at Horseheads High. They will play the winner from Section 4.

The Wildcats came out to a strong start closing out the first game easily but had to fight the whole way the rest of the match. After dropping game two, the Wildcats came back from behind in both the third and fourth games to win.

Key serving at the end all the games was the difference for the Wildcats. They were able to stop the Tigers and keep the serve long enough to serve out the last few points.

Mackenzie Davidow had a big night serving with six aces. She also helped keep the serve alive with 12 digs. The Wildcats played a solid game though they seemed to get a little down in the second game and had to refocus in the third and fourth.

The Tigers on the other hand played the game of their lives. A few points in the other direction and this could’ve gone five or been a completely different match. Kerry Horan had 17 kills for the Tigers. Teammate Annie Manes had 13.

Passing seemed to be a problem for the Wildcats but Nicole Petrillo and Jackie Nannariello were able to get some good sets off anyway and get the hitters the ball. Michelle Klimas led the offense with 10 kills. She also led the defense with 17 digs.

This was such great volleyball that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn’t tell who would win until the match was over.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s Class AA, Class B and Class D finals and we will keep you updated on regionals as the information trickles down the grapevine.

9:10 p.m.: In a fantastic fourth game, Westlake was able to pull out a 25-23 win to win the match 3-1. The victory gives the Wildcats a fourth straight sectional title.

It didn’t come easy though. Croton-Harmon took leads of 22-19 and 23-22, but the Wildcats were able to win the match’s final three points to emerge victorious.

I’m not covering this game (Casey is on top of things), but I was in the vicinity, so I guess technically, I saw my first two matches of the year go more than three sets.

I guess that should be expected though, when it gets to this point of the season and only the top teams are left to battle things out. What a great night of volleyball.

Tomorrow should be exciting as well with the Class D (2 p.m.), Class AA (4 p.m.) and Class B (6 p.m.) championships all packed into one day at John Jay High School. Once again, if you have any leftover candy, don’t be shy…

8:55 p.m.: Westlake won game three and now holds a slim 16-15 lead in game four. The Wildcats are nine points away from a fourth straight Section 1 championship.

I just checked in on the Class C Championship between Westlake and Croton-Harmon and was surprised to see that the match is tied two games a piece.

This one is certainly going differently than the first times the teams played in which Westlake won easily, 3-0. It’s 13-12 in the third set. Keep it here for updates.

Hey everyone,

Fox Lane defeated John Jay 3-1 a little while ago in the Class A championship. The Foxes won with game scores of 27-25, 25-16, 22-25, and 25-20 to claim their first sectional title since 2005.

Nora Rugova led Fox Lane with 11 aces, 11 kills and 10 assists.

The first game was incredible. John Jay had a set point, but couldn’t convert and too many (9) service errors cost the Indians a chance to really put some pressure on No. 1 Fox Lane.

With the win, Fox Lane advances to play in the regional semifinal at Corning West High School at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday against the Section 4 winner.

Amazingly, that stopped a personal streak of seeing strictly straight-set matches. To answer Phil, yes, it was a great match to watch!

I was also happy to receive some candy from a kind Fox Lane parent, who shall remain nameless. Maybe that brought good karma to the team…

Back in a little with an update on the Class C final between Westlake and Croton-Harmon, which is going on right now.

Do I really have to quote the immortal words of Ron Burgandy from Anchorman? We may not be in San Diego, but the theme still applies.

Like I’ve said before, I’m all for celebrating and even a little trash talk. Choo Choo’s K-TRAINNNNN comment was classic.

But when it comes to vicious insults and insinuating fights between fans from different schools, I must draw the line.

A. I don’t want to see anybody hurt.

B. I don’t want to have to waste my time running around talking to cops and writing about it when I should be concentrating on volleyball.

Okay, that’s all for now. Time to head on over to Pelham for the Class A and Class C championships. Back with more later! And remember: You stay classy, Lower Hudson Valley.

So all the finals are set.

Tomorrow/Friday the Class A and Class C finals will be at Pelham High School.

Fox Lane will play John Jay at 5 p.m. followed by Westlake and Croton-Harmon at 7:30 p.m.

I’m covering the Class A game at 5 p.m. and I am going out on a limb and saying that I will finally see my first match go over 3 games. In fact, I think this match is the only one of the five finals where the underdog has a chance to win (sorry Arlington, Pelham, Croton-Harmon and Keio).

I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get home from the Suffern match tonight, it seemed like the first game might literally go on forever. When they tied the game at 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31…I was getting a little nervous but the Mounties were able to pull out a 33-31, 25-17, 25-10 win tonight.

The Mounties were in top form tonight. Moving their feet and catching practically everything that the Indians threw their way. And even though they started off a little tense, according to Kristin Schmidt, it was clear the girls were having a blast even in tight spots with close scores.

Schmidt had a huge night at the net with 14 kills. Jenna Hrycyk had a big night too with 13 kills and 17 digs. Amber Morales and Jessica Crowley each had 11 digs. It was an overall good night for the Mounties, who are hoping to keep their momentum going into Saturday’s final.

Margaret Sharp had some big service rotations, coming in off the bench, with a three-serve rally in the second game to tie at 10 and a four-point run in the third to give the Mounties a 17-9 lead. Jackie Berks had a good night too with eight digs and three blocks. Her serving helped out the Mounties too, she gave the Mounties a 22-20 lead in the first and then came back around to served out the first game.

Gillian Felix led the Indians with 11 kills and nine digs. Megan Sieber had 14 digs and helped keep the Indians alive during some intense rallies.

In other Class AA semifinal news: Arlington bested North Rockland in five 25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 27-29, 25-16. Keri Perrotto led the Red Raiders with 19 kills and 18 digs. Teammate O’Keli Tuke had 21 kills. I wasn’t at the game but I got some information on the Admirals and it looks like they were really strong at blocking which may have caused some problems for the Red Raiders. Olivia Reeves had 18 blocks and 11 kills for Arlington. I guess we’ll all get to see how good the Admirals are soon.

The Admirals and the Mounties will face off Saturday at John Jay High in the finals at 4 p.m.

That was quick.

Hen Hud dismantled Byram Hills in a Class B semifinal today.

I was at the match (surprise, it was 3-0) and I’m already back in the office working on my story. The Sailors won with game scores of 25-7, 25-16 and 25-10.

Kami Nethersole led the way with 12 kills, 3 blocks and 3 aces.

Hen Hud is truly playing incredible volleyball to win like this over a Byram Hills team that is definitely one of the top 5 teams in the section.

The Sailors improved to 20-0 and will play in the Class B final Saturday at John Jay at 6 p.m. They will play the winner of Ardsley at Pelham, which is currently going on right now. Back with more later!

In case you don’t know, the Byram Hills-Hen Hud Class B semifinal today has been moved up in time to 3:45 p.m. from the original starting time of 4:30 p.m.

Once again, this match will start at 3:45 p.m. at Hen Hud.

With all the banter on the blog in the past week from both of these teams, including talk about who has the better crowd support, I’m anticipating a raucous gym!

I will be leaving shortly to get to the match and I’m looking forward to a competitive tilt between these two excellent teams. Back with more on the match tonight.

Today I covered the John Jay-Lakeland Class A semifinal. This promised to be a very long and entertaining match (the teams played two, five-game matches in the regular season), but since I came, it became a 3-0 match of course.

On a serious note, John Jay looked great today. The Indians play great defense and they have a very balanced offensive attack. Cathy Kulick led the way with 11 kills today, but John Jay looked like a team that boasts a number of players who could lead the way on any given match.

Emma Sheeran also played a terrific game with 31 assists, four aces and four kills.

Of course, that sets up a terrific Class A final Friday night at Pelham between John Jay and No. 1 Fox Lane. The Foxes won both matches between the teams, but John Jay is clearly playing at a higher level than it was during the season. The Indians have now won five matches in a row, including a win over defending Class AA champs Suffern in the final match of the regular season.

Of all the finals, I think this one clearly is the best chance for a potential upset.

As for the rest of the matches today, there were certainly no upsets. Westlake and Croton-Harmon won 3-0 in Class C and Fox Lane beat Panas 3-0 in the other Class A final.

Okay, time to see if the Knicks can actually hang on for a win in their opening game! Back with more soon…

Hey guys!

I was at Westlake High School today at a Class C semifinal game between the Wildcats and Dobbs Ferry. Two teams who hadn’t met all season, neither really knew what to expect but the Wildcats were able to adjust quickly and came out with a 25-7, 25-20, 25-9 win.

The Wildcats will play Croton-Harmon on Friday in the finals at 7 p.m.. (Remember the finals on Friday are at Pelham High, the finals on Saturday are at John Jay-Cross River)

The Wildcats played some great defense but it was their offense that made all the difference. The Eagles couldn’t seem to stop their spikes and had some trouble with serve receive as well.

Michelle Klimas was a leader for the Wildcats with eight digs, eight kills, and four aces.

Four players posted double-digit digs,  Jillian Dunne with 14, Samantha Horton and Mackenzie Davidow with 12 and Jackie Nannariello with 11.

Nicole Petrillo, Dunne and Nannariello each had six kills.

For the Eagles, Courtney Bucci had six digs and five kills. Teammate Jacqueline Crews had six kills and three digs.

The Wildcats dominated the first and third game because of their ability to keep the serve. Klimas had an 11-point service streak, Petrillo and Dunne  had a seven-point streaks and Nannariello had a six -point streak.

Westlake is more than ready to take on rival Croton-Harmon. The two faced off last season in the sectional finals and the Wildcats went on to be the state final runner-up. There is no doubt that Friday’s match is going to be intense and rivalries are going to flare.