SECTION IV VOLLEYBALL: CANDOR SWEEPS CLASS D POOL PLAY (2023-11-02)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
CANDOR — Candor received an occasional challenge, but also displayed plenty of dominance as it swept through the Section IV Class D semifinals Thursday.

The top-seeded Coyotes went 6-0 against Newfield, Oxford and Delhi to advance to Saturday’s championship game.

“I think it was pretty much a team effort all the way around,” Candor coach Pam Quinlan said. “We kind of talk about just doing what you've been doing all season. Don't try to do more. Don't try to play more than your position, because then things can get a little chaotic out there. I think people did that. I think we made, most of the time, some good decisions on what to do with the ball in terms of hitting it and putting the ball away.”

Candor opened with a familiar foe, IAC Small School counterpart Newfield, and won by 15-13 and 25-18 scores.

A pair of Midstate Athletic Conference opponents filled the remainder of pool play for the Coyotes.

First up was Oxford. After dropping the first set, 25-14, the Blackhawks gave Candor a challenge before falling, 26-24.

The Coyotes’ final opponent was second-seeded Delhi. Candor cruised to a 21-11 win in the first game, but the Bulldogs made them work a little harder in the second, a 25-21 victory by the host team.

Quinlan pointed out that just because you might dominate one game, it doesn’t mean you will do the same in the next one.

“I think sometimes, if you beat a team, sometimes there's some preconceived notions,” shesaid. “The next game you can get somebody on the other side having a serving run and you're struggling with maybe getting your pass there. Or, taking the big swings, sometimes you're going to miss and there's some good defense on the other side and balls are coming back.

“I think overall as a team we performed really well.”

The Coyotes, at 6-0 on the day, were able to kick back and wait to see which team they would face in the finals.

Newfield needed to win both sets against Oxford to advance and would be eliminated with two losses. A split would create a three-way tie and a playoff for the No. 2 spot.

Prior to the Newfield-Oxford meeting, Quinlan wasn’t concerned about who the Coyotes finals opponent would be.

“I would think any team that comes in Saturday is going to come to play,” she said. “I think everybody knows that it's that time of the season when you’ve got to get it done.

“I think any of the other three teams have the potential at any point to beat any other team, so I don't think I really have a preference as to who we play. We just have to come ready to play whoever shows up on the other side.”

As it turned out, the Trojans won both games fairly handily, 25-15 and 25-12.

The championship match is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday at Corning High School.

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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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