CANDOR'S QUINLAN SELECTED TIOGA COUNTY GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR (2020-06-21)

Tioga County Sports Report
TIOGA COUNTY — Candor hadn't won a state title since capturing back-to-back crowns in 2002 and 2003, but if you follow local high school volleyball, you could probably sense the day when the Indians would return to the top.

That came to fruition last November and is a testament to the efforts of their coach, Pam Quinlan, who has been selected the 2019-20 Tioga County Girls Coach of the Year.

Candor would put together a 22-0 record. The Indians swept every dual-match opponent except two, defeating Edison, 3-1, early in the season and two-time defending Class D state champ Bainbridge-Guilford, 3-2, in the Section IV championship match.

The only other sets Candor dropped were at the Horseheads Tournament — a 25-19 loss to the Class AA host, and a 25-18 pool play setback against Class B Our Lady of Mercy (they rebounded to beat OLM, 25-20 , in the second set).

The Indians' victories included impressive regular season wins over strong programs from IAC Large School champ Newark Valley, Tioga and Waverly — twice each. After taking the IAC South Small School title, Candor topped Union Springs for the IAC Small School championship, then dominated Walton in the sectional quarterfinals.

Candor would go 6-0 in the pool play semifinals against B-G, Tioga and Union Springs before winning a five-set thriller over B-G to qualify fo the state playoffs.

The Indians swept Section III champ Lafayette on the road at regionals, then went 6-0 in pool play at the state semis, topping Panama, Haldane and Galway. Candor and Panama squared off again for the championship with the Indians winning, 3-0. A pair of 10-point runs, in the first and third sets, highlighted the victory.

Candor would also boast the tournament MVP (Braelyn Hornick) as well as two more all-tournament honorees (Megan Henry and Jennah Kareem). That same trio would go on to earn all-state recognition.

Quinlan would be named the Section IV Coach of the Year by the New York Volleyball Coaches Association. Her Indians would also be recognized by the NYVCA with the Class D Sportsmanship Award and the Class D No. 1 ranking.