Tioga County Sports ReportMONTROSE, N.Y. — The Owego volleyball team returns to NYSPHSAA regional action tonight against unbeaten Section I powerhouse Hendrick Hudson.
The Sailors, who come in with a sparkling 23-0 record, will have home court advantage when action gets underway at 6 p.m. this evening.
Like Owego, Hen Hud is relatively young with just two seniors — 5-foot-9 setter Mackenzie Calhoun and Fran Tissoni, a libero / defensive specialist.
Junior Amya Davis is the main threat at the net. The 5-8 outside hitter had 14 kills and two blocks in a 3-0 sweep of Briarcliff in the sectional championship match.
Sophomore middle hitter Marta Przybylowska, junior middle hitter Vera Montalbano, junior libero Camille Gibson and setter Olivia Tran, an 8th-grader, are key contributors.
"I think in order to beat Hendrick Hudson we need to show up and play aggressively," Owego coach Brittney Race said. "We will need to be consistent and able to let go of mistakes and come back with the next point.
"I didn’t see much of them (they are hard to find stuff on), but the one film I saw, they looked pretty big. So we will need to make sure we are ready for a big block and tall attackers."
Opposite Maggie Hamed, a 5-9 8th-grader, has 128 kills for the Indians while 5-9 junior outside hitter Sophia Palladino has added another 124. Junior setter Alex Senko has handed out 288 assists while junior libero Saylor Ayers has chipped in with 151 digs.
Owego has one senior on its roster in 5-9 middle hitter Mia Puglisi. The other junior is outside hitter Sarah Terry. Also on the roster are outside hitter Emma Bryant, defensive specialist Emily Wong and middle hitter Julia Zepkowski, all sophomores; and libero / defensive specialist Shannon Maslin, middle hitter Michaela Terry, and setter Lexi Herceg, all freshmen.
Hen Hud has won 16 Section I championships since 2000 while Owego has won a Section IV title every year since 2011 with the exception of 2020 (no tournament due to COVID-19).
The winner faces Section IX champ New Paltz (13-3) in the regional finals at Millbrook High School at 2 p.m. Saturday.
