N.Y. STATE VOLLEYBALL: CANDOR SWEEPS TUPPER LAKE; WINS PROGRAM'S 12TH REGIONAL TITLE, ADVANCES TO CLASS D SEMIFINALS (November 15, 2025)

By TIM BIRNEY
Tioga County Sports Report
CANDOR — Defending Class D state champion took one step closer to defending its title with a sweep of Section X runner-up Tupper Lake in the state quarterfinals here Saturday morning.

The Coyotes swept the Lumberjacks by scores of 25-8, 25-13, and 25-15.

The quarter-final round also serves as one of four Regional championships in the state, and the win is the 12th Regional title under longtime coach Pam Quinlan.

"It doesn't get old," laughed Quinlan "Because it's a new group of kids.

"People will say you've been there before, and yes I've been there before, and some of the girls have been there before, but some haven't. It's a different group, it's a different dynamic," she noted. "I think every year, you get excited at this time of the year.

"I think this group's passion for the game, their love for each other, and their understanding of their God-given abilities they've been blessed with and being given the opportunity to use those abilities, they just thrive on that," Quinlan added.

Quinlan said her team, now 15-0, hit a bit of a lull in the latter stages of the regular season.

"We hit a snag about the middle of October," she said. "We just weren't playing how we should, so we had a conversation. I told them we're going into the postseason, we need to start playing at a different level, and a more consistent level.

"The last few weeks of the season, then going into IACs and Sectional play, we have had good practices — relaxed, but focused.

"I think the girls are trusting each other and pulling it together at the right time," Quinlan added.

The Coyotes jumped out to big leads early in each of the first two sets, thanks to service runs by senior Nicola Soper — five points, including four consecutive aces, in the first set to give Candor a 9-2 lead — and junior Malley Heidl — four points in the second set to make it 7-2.

"I think being able to create that separation is what you want," said Quinlan. "Last week, we had trouble doing that.

"As a coach, that's what you want to see," she noted. "You want to see a four-point lead, turn into a seven-point lead, and then into a nine- or 10-point lead, instead of playing point-for-point.

"And, we've talked about that because we've struggled with from time-to-time during the season," Quinlan added.

In the first set, Candor steadily pulled away, with a four-point service run, including three straight aces, by senior Tracy Reynolds making it 19-6.

With junior Emmi Makie and Soper finishing off points with kills, Candor finished off the set with a 25-8.

After the Coyotes closed the gap to 9-7 in the second set, Hazel Ray served up four straight points, including two aces and a kill by Valerie Polanco Gil, to up the lead to 13-7.

Makie continued her strong play at the net, ending several Tupper Lake serves with kills.

Polanco Gil served up a pair of points to give the Coyotes their biggest lead of the set, at 23-11.

After a side-out and a Tupper Lake service point trimmed the lead to 23-13, Makie's kill made it 24-13, and her service point closed out the win.

Tupper Lake took its first lead of the day on an Owego side-out to start the third set.

After trading side-outs, Heidl had a pair of service points to give Candor a 4-2 lead, which it never relinquished.

The Coyotes led 10-7 when senior Jill Teribury served up five straight points, including a pair of aces and a kill by Makie, to stretch the advantage to 15-7.

With Candor up 17-10, Heidl served up a pair of aces, and Ray notched a kill to push the lead to 20-10.

Makie registered her final kill of the day to give Candor a 24-15 lead, and the game ended on a service point by Reynolds and a block at the net by Heidl.

Heidl led Candor with 17 service points, including three aces, 29 assists, two blocks, and three digs, while Soper had 12 points, including five aces, seven kills, and two digs, and Makie had three points, 20 kills, and four digs.

Jill Teribury had 12 points (two aces) and five digs in the win, while Ray had five points, four kills, one block, and two digs, Reynolds added eight points (three aces), and Ava Fernando chipped in with two kills and one block.

Quinlan acknowledges having hitters like Makie and Soper is a luxury, but says the Coyotes have developed hitting depth.

"We talk about what we need to do when those two hitters are in the back row," said Quinlan. "We need other hitters to step up, and we're starting to see that.

"My setter being comfortable going to them is important, and I think you're seeing that, too.

"You need a balanced offense, so when someone else comes in with two or three kills, or a few good defensive plays, that just helps the team all-around," she added.

Candor will be joined in Class D final four pool play by Section II's Mekeel, Section III's Weedsport, and Section V's York.

Class D pool play will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the championship match set for Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

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