SECTION IV VOLLEYBALL: OWEGO CAPTURES 9TH STRAIGHT TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (2019-11-09)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
CORNING — Owego turned away a scrappy M-E team, 3-0, to win its ninth consecutive Section IV volleyball championship here Saturday.

The Indians won by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-18, and will now set their sights on winning their fourth state title in the past seven years. Owego won it all in 2013, 2015 and 2017, and was the state runner-up in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Obviously, the thrill of repeatedly winning the sectional title never gets old for Owego head coach Brittney Race.

"Every year, it's different. It's a different team, it's a different feeling, a different atmosphere," she said. "It's cool. It's No. 9. It's pretty cool for us."

Owego came into the day having won 44 of 48 sets in dual matches. M-E was one of only two teams to win a set in against the Indians during the regular season, but lost that match, 3-1. During pool play Thursday night, the Spartans feel to the top seed in lopsided fashion, 25-6 and 25-8.

However, M-E wasn't going to roll over in the championship match, but the Indians weren't about to give up their string of sectional titles without a fight even though they didn't appear to have their "A" game on.

"I thought we struggled today," Race said. "A win's a win and I'm proud of them for battling through and being able to do that, but this was definitely not the best that this team has shown, that's for sure.

"I've got to give it to Maine-Endwell too. I though they played us tough. They definitely played us tougher than they've played us all season long. I think the combination of that and then us kind of being flat, it made for kind of a flat game, but we battled through, we took it, and we're going to roll with it and move on."

The Spartans grabbed an early 5-4 edge in the opening set, but Owego rallied to take the lead. Down, 13-9, M-E cut the lead to a point, then the Indians rode a 5-point run to a 19-13 advantage, then outscored M-E, 6-3, down the stretch.

M-E would notch the first point of game two, but the Indians came back to score three straight and never trailed again. The Spartans managed to hang around again but Owego used a 4-point burst to build a 20-12 cushion. The Indians would score 11 of the game's final 14 points.

The Spartans put Owego in a hole again in game three, but the Indians rallied behind short scoring bursts to double up M-E, 16-8. Owego extended the lead to 20-12, but M-E cut it to 20-16, only to watch the Indians close out the game by scoring five of the final seven points.

Statistically, the Indians had some solid numbers. Mackenzie Struble handed out 17 assists to accompany 13 kills, five aces and five digs. Camryn Kopalek contributed 10 kills, eight assists, eight digs and eight blocks; Sara Zepkowski had five kills, four blocks, three digs and two aces; and Annika Kinney added 12 digs, three assists and two aces.

Emma Howe had a nice day at the net, registering seven kills and a block. Taylor Aubel chipped in with four kills and two digs; Macey Gibson and Bianca DeVIta added eight and five digs, respectively; and Haleigh Whatley added a block.

Owego (15-1) faces the winner of Ardsley from Section I and Section IX's Red Hook Saturday at 2 p.m. at C-PP.

With a bye to start the state playoffs, the Indians will have a few extra days to tweak their game.

"Oh, we're going to drill some defense. That is for sure," Race said. "We kind of decided we weren't going to play much defense today, but then to our defenders' credit, when they did start getting the ball, I felt like we weren't connecting offensively. I think for these guys, they're going to turn it on and I'm not worried about that, but we definitely need to fine-tune some defensive things, connect a little better offensively. We'll be good. We'll be ready."

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IN PHOTO 1: Owego's Sara Zepkowski (7). ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.