They also went three sets with Pittsford Sutherland, dropping the first game, 25-10, but bouncing back to take the second, 25-23. PIttsford won the third, 15-11, to end Owego’s chances of advancing to Sunday’s finals. 

In between those matches, defending champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, winners of three of the last four state tournaments, beat Owego, 25-15, 25-23.

Owego vs. Sayville
The River Hawks worked a 14-6 lead in the first set and still led, 24-18, late in the game when the Golden Flashes rallied. Taking advantage of a handful of Owego miscues, Sayville rallied to tie (24-24) and extend the set, but some big hits by Maggie Hamed gave the River Hawks the win.

The Flashes rallied from an 0-4 deficit in game two to take the lead, but Owego kept it close. Up, 18-16, Sayville created a little more space down the stretch to gain the four-point win.

Sayville took six of the first seven points in game three, but Owego fought back to grab an 11-10 edge, but the Flashes ended the match with a 5-0 run.

Lexi Herceg dished out 28 assists to go with a kill and a dig; Kayla Newman had 10 digs and four kills; Michaela Terry added three kills; Logan Georgia contributed eight kills; Maggie Hamed recorded 14 kills and three digs; Evelyn Howe chipped in with a kill; Shannon Maslin had 10 kills, one assist and one ace; and Sofia Silvanic added seven digs and an ace.

Owego vs. BH-BL
The Spartans showed why they’re the team to beat, scoring the first six points in game one. The River Hawks didn’t give in and closed the gap to three points three times, the last at 12-9. Burnt Hills reeled off six straight points to build a 19-9 cushion.

Owego never trailed by more than seven, 14-7, in game two. The River Hawks rallied to tie things up at 20, but BH-BL came up with a block and kill by Sarah Robbins and aces from Cassandra Vaughan and Lauren Bachand to seal up the win.

Herceg had 15 assists, two kills, two digs and a block; Newman pitched in with two kills and one dig; Terry added a a kill; Georgia had five kills; Hamed chalked up eight kills and eight digs; Howe had three kills and a dig; Maslin added four digs and two assists; and Silvanic chipped in with two digs, an ace, an assist and a kill.

Owego vs. Pittsford Sutherland
The Knights dominated the first set, rallying from a 5-3 deficit to go ahead to stay, 13-5, and pulled away from there.

The River Hawks never trailed, until Pittsford rallied from a six-point deficit to grab its only lead at 21-20. Terry delivered a sideout hit, then stepped to the service line as Owego went back ahead, 22-21. Howe’s tap on the sideline made it 23-21 and Logan Georgia’s hit off a front row defender made it 24-22. The Knights let Howe’s hit drop to the floor, expecting it to land out of bounds. Hamed blasted a shot to the back line to end the set.

Pittsford Sutherland led from start to finish in game three to secure a spot in the championship match.

Herceg handed out 13 assists, and had a pair of kills and one dig; Newman pitched in with two kills and two digs; Terry had two kills and an ace; Georgia collected two kills; Hamed contributed nine kills, three digs an ace and an assist; Howe had three kills and one dig; Maslin added six digs and an assist; and Silvanic had three digs.

“They played hard and that's what I really appreciate, I think especially against Burnt Hills and Pittsford Sutherland,” said coach Abbey Manning. “We started off and I don't think it was nerves, but I almost think it was like pressure if anything. So the pressure was on, but once they started getting comfortable and relaxed, it went downhill almost. They knew they wanted to go out and win that second set, and they battled and that's really what I wanted to see, because I don't want them going out like they did in the first set.”

Despite falling short of a berth in the finals, it was a strong season for the STAC champions, who went 19-0 in match play. Manning called it awesome.

“This is probably one of the top teams that Owego has seen, in general,” she said. “Being able to come here and see these teams and realize that we are still in the top four in the state for Class A, that's awesome. It's hard to get here in general, so being able to even get here in the first place is great, especially since we haven't been here since 2018.”

Owego will graduate a large chunk of this team, several of whom have been on the varsity throughout their high school careers. They will be hard to replace.

“That crew of seniors is the core of my team,” Manning said. “They bring their all to practice every day, so I'm going to need some leadership, because more than half of my starting lineup is seniors. We have a lot of roles to fill next year, but I think it's exciting to be able to rebuild.

“We lose both of our middles. The middle's a hard position to fill, but I definitely have some people that I know can take on that role next year and I'm working with these people during club season, so hopefully we can build into next season as well. I’m losing a lot of my defensive people, which is tragic too, but defense is the fun part and I'm able to train that easier than I would be able to a middle, because I was never a middle. That was one position I never actually played as a player. “

“We will still be a good team next year. I'm not worried about that. It's just building and figuring out cohesiveness as a team, because this team right now, they work together and they support each other in a way that most teams don't. We work around our own mistakes. Some teams put hatred towards their teammates that are making the mistakes, and I think that's important, and I don't want that next year.”

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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.