STAC VOLLEYBALL: OWEGO BATTLES PAST VESTAL IN 5-SET THRILLER (23 PHOTOS) (2024-10-25)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — It was nearly a two-hour marathon, but in the end unbeaten Owego prevailed over Vestal, 3-2, in a STAC volleyball semifinal here Friday evening.
“This was probably the first match, I would say, that we struggled a little bit, but honestly, we played a good team and it was a battle throughout the whole thing and being able to figure that part of us out is going to be beneficial,” coach Abbey Manning said.
The River Hawks saved their best effort for last, dominating the fifth set, 15-3, to advance to Tuesday’s championship. Logan Georgia helped Owego to a 4-1 lead and the Golden Bears never got closer than 4-2 as the River Hawks rattled off eight consecutive points. Maggie Hamed was key at the net while Lexi Herceg had several strong assists on her way to surpassing the 1,000 mark.
“I wish they started that way, but we finally managed to start strong and end strong in one set,” Manning said. “We need to be able to figure that out throughout every set we play because we are a very up and down team, not mentally, but energy-wise, and that's the key we need to figure out.
“Sometimes you're going along, flying, you kind of just relax a little bit and the other team comes back on you, especially if it's a good team, and I do tell them to not be comfortable because any team can come in our gym and beat us,” said Manning. “We can have a really awesome day and a team could come in, we could have a really poor day and the team could come in and beat us, but it's got to be our game at all times, even when we're struggling.”
Owego controlled much of the tempo in the opening set to post a 25-16 win. The River Hawks built a 15-5 cushion although Vestal would trim the gap to 20-15 before struggling down the stretch.
The second set saw the Bears score the first three points, but the home team came back to grab an 11-7 lead. Down, 15-13, Vestal scored a side out, then Arden Kaldis stepped to the service line and induced Owego into several errors during a 10-point run. Two more miscues pushed the score to 25-17 in favor of the visitors.
In the third set, the River Hawks fell behind by a half-dozen points on three occasions, the last being 14-8. Trailing, 21-17, Owego would work its way back to grab its first lead of the game at 22-21 and go on to an apparent 25-23 win. However, Bears coach Joe Nemecek challenged the winning point and won, making it a 24-24 contest. Vestal would get the lead back twice, but with the score tied at 27, Kayla Newman found a hole in the middle of the Bears' defense and Hamed’s hit was mishandled by Vestal, giving the home team a 29-27 triumph.
“When we got into the huddle, when I took the time out, I literally just told them to play simple,” said Manning. “When we play simple, we connect and that's our best game, so when we were able to do that, we were able to get back those points and just chip away.”
Despite nine ties during the fourth set, the lead, when there was one, was usually in Owego’s favor. Vestal managed to regroup and rally for an 18-17 advantage, its first lead since a 4-3 edge early in the game. From there, the Bears built a 22-18 lead and went on to win, 25-21.
Hamed finished with a double-double which included 22 kills and 11 digs. She also had four aces and one block. Herceg cranked out 50 assists to go with two blocks and a kill; Georgia contributed 11 kills and nine blocks; and Newman chipped in with seven kills, four digs a block and an ace.
Michaela Terry chipped in with 11 kills; Shannon Maslin had 22 digs and an ace; Sofia Silvanic added 14 digs and a kill; Evelyn Howe had four kills; and Peyton Coolbaugh tacked on a kill.
On Tuesday, Owego (16-0) will face the winner of Saturday’s other semi between Corning and Windsor.
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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