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No. 2 Maple Grove Sweeps No. 6 North Collins To Advance

Maple Grove's Bre Hill lets a spike fly. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

Twice Monday, No. 2 Maple Grove fell into early holes during its Section VI Class D volleyball semifinal against No. 6 North Collins on Dutch Hollow Road.

Both times the Red Dragons were able to rally and they led when it mattered most — at the end.

The Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association South Division champions used contributions throughout their lineup to eventually sweep the Eagles, 25-18, 25-22, 25-20.

The win sets up a third meeting this season between Maple Grove and defending New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D champion Panama at 6 p.m. Friday at Brocton High School.

The fifth-seeded Panthers beat No. 8 Randolph in straight sets on Monday.

Maple Grove’s Maddie Welsh, left, and Olivia Pembridge put up a block during their Class D semifinal against North Collins on Dutch Hollow Road. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

“They want it really bad,” Maple Grove coach Bayley Johnson said. “We have five seniors who have been playing volleyball together for a long time. They have been working hard for this moment.”

The Red Dragons used contributions from all three of their main hitters, who each made their presence felt at different points of the match. Senior Maddy Russo finished with 13 kills, sophomore Bre Hill had 12 kills and junior Maddie Welsh chipped in seven kills and four blocks.

“It was a big team effort,” Johnson said. “We talked about everybody needing to be a key player on this team to be successful.”

Senior setter Olivia Pembridge added 26 assists and four aces for Maple Grove.

A pair of aces from junior Baylee Romano helped North Collins jump out to a 7-1 lead in Monday’s first set before the Red Dragons came to life.

Maple Grove’s Emma Wirsen passes the ball during Section VI Class D semifinal action against North Collins on Monday evening on Dutch Hollow Road. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

“I think we were just not playing our game and we were getting really excited. Their serving was great and our serve-receive was not,” Johnson said. “They come work hard no matter what. It seems to be a trend for us sometimes. We let ourselves get down and then we work hard and do it.”

Hill had a pair of kills during a 10-4 run and Maple Grove eventually tied the set on three straight finishes from Russo.

“They have a strong middle and we knew about (Russo),” North Collins coach Dave Burgstahler said. “We knew that a lot of balls would go to her and they did, but she did it today without necessarily hitting the ball, but tipping and hitting it smart. You just have to play disciplined defense, move and adjust as needed.”

Later, with the Red Dragons leading 19-16, three hitting errors in a row from the Eagles allowed the hosts’ edge to grow to six points. Maple Grove continued to take advantage of the short tap just over the North Collins blockers as junior Courtney Hemminger and Russo helped push it to set point before junior Alyssa Steen’s ace off the net provided the winner.

Hill became the focus of the Red Dragons’ offense early in the second set as she helped her team build a quick 4-1 lead. The Eagles tied the set 10-10 on an ace from freshman Makenna Williams, but a pair of kills from Hill coupled with finishes from Welsh and Hemminger pushed the Maple Grove lead back up to 18-13.

“Bre really took advantage. She saw a seam in their block and took advantage of that,” Johnson said. “She followed through every time. When she does that, she does a great job.”

The Red Dragons continued to build from there as a pair of Russo kills and a block from Steen made it 22-14 late. A short burst from North Collins, including two Deanne Wilson aces eventually made it 23-22, but a long North Collins serve that was very close to hitting the line and a spike that went long ultimately handed the set to the Red Dragons.

“It hurts the momentum and takes the wind out of your sails,” Burgstahler said of the close serve. “They are young and they have to value every single possession. … I’m glad that we battled back, but I think if we didn’t take possessions off and kept the momentum going, we could’ve taken a game.”

North Collins again jumped to a brief 3-0 lead in the third set, but Welsh took over from there. The middle hitter had three kills and a block during a 13-1 run that helped the Red Dragons begin to run away with it.

“We need to see Maddie Welsh more in the action. She has a great swing,” Johnson said. “She took it strong and I think that diversity worked well for us tonight.”

The Eagles eventually pulled to within three at 16-13 on a Morgan Mathis kill and later tied the set at 20-all on a Romano ace off the net, but a Welsh kill, a Pembridge ace and a kill from Hill eventually set Welsh up for a match-winning block.

“Volleyball is such a mental game. You can’t take any plays off mentally or physically,” Burgstahler said. “When you have as many seniors as they have, they’ve been around. Some of our girls can be distracted by the crowd, they are young and they are excited to be here. … It’s going to take time.”

Now the Red Dragons will have to deal with a Panama team that they lost to Sept. 25 at home before beating Oct. 18 in Panama.

“Panama is another great team,” Maple Grove coach Bayley Johnson said. “I think the confidence that we beat them one time will be really powerful for us.”

NOTES: Wilson had nine kills and three aces; Mathis had four kills; and Williams had 14 assists for North Collins.

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