So the Panthers senior did something about it.

Marsh had 18 kills and 20 digs in six sets of action as Panama went 4-2 to advance to today’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D final against Section IV Bainbridge-Guilford at Cool Insuring Arena.

“I knew I was not leaving this place without playing my best and leaving it all out on the court,” Marsh said.

“She’s all heart. She wants to be playing (today),” Panama coach Tammy Hosier said of Marsh. “She has a never-die mentality. She was a leader out there. She came through big for us and made some big plays.”

Panama’s Kylie Schnars attempts a block. Photo by Jo Bailey

After sweeping Section IX Mount Academy to open Saturday’s action, Panama stumbled against Section II Mayfield, splitting with the Panthers to set up several scenarios against Bainbridge-Guilford. The defending state-champion Bobcats had already clinched a spot in today’s final by virtue of their 3-1 record to open the morning.

“You learn from your mistakes and you learn from your losses,” Panama senior Madalyn Bowen said. “Failure is the key to success.”

If Panama had lost both sets to Bainbridge-Guilford and Mayfield won both sets against Mount Academy to close out pool play, a 25-point tie-breaker would have determined the second finalist.

Hosier’s team made sure that wasn’t necessary.

“We really pushed hard so we didn’t have to have a tie-breaker,” Bowen added.

Maci Johnson sets the ball. P-J photo by Jo Bailey

Panama led as late as 23-22 in the first set against the Bobcats, but a spike into the net tied the set at 23-all and gave service back to Bainbridge-Guilford. Abigail Selfridge then set a ball over the net and deep into the corner to make it 24-23 before the Bobcats prevailed 25-23 on an Alexis Carr ace off the net.

See PANAMA, Page C8

“Panama has a super-great program. … I thought that we didn’t necessarily play our best today,” Bainbridge-Guilford coach Tami Selfridge said. “I felt like they were more well-rounded this year. They are stronger across the board as opposed to just going to one player all the time.”

Needing a win to advance, Panama came out strong, eventually taking a 15-11 lead on a Bainbridge-Guilford net violation. The lead grew to 20-13 on back-to-back aces from Marra Hovey that coaxed the Bobcats into a timeout. A kill from Bowen made it 21-13 before Maci Johnson eventually served out the set when Bainbridge-Guilford couldn’t handle a Natalie Angeletti spike on set point.

“We said ‘Let’s control our own fate. Let’s go out and play our game,'” Hosier said. “We knew we had to hit the ball. We had to attack. If we are going to let them attack, they are going to get the point.”

The Panama volleyball team reacts after a successful point during Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D Tournament at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls on Saturday. Photo by Jo Bailey

Saturday’s pool play was much more competitive than a year ago, and the Panthers found that out right away. The Panthers trailed seven different times in their opening set against the Eagles before finally taking a 23-22 lead on a kill from Marsh. Kylie Schnars followed with a kill before Angeletti finished off the 25-22 set with an ace.

Mount Academy battled hard throughout the second set as well, leading as late as 19-18 before Panama finished strong. A kill from Angeletti followed by a kill and a block from Schnars made it 21-19 in favor of the Panthers as Eagles coach Sandy Mancuso-Lopez called a timeout. Another Schnars kill made it 22-20 before the junior middle blocker closed out the 25-21 set with another kill and a block.

“We need her to play big,” Hosier said of Schnars. “She had a couple of good plays, but just not as consistently as in the past.”

Panama led Mayfield, 5-1, early in its second match of the day, but once Coach Eileen Rovito’s Panthers got within 6-4, no team led by more than two until Mayfield took a 23-20 lead. Panama then battled back to tie things at 23-all and the teams remained close until Mayfield scored the final three points on a bad Panama pass, a Samantha Kent kill and a Katie LaGrange block to win 29-27, handing Panama its first defeat in three years of pool-play action.

“The competition has definitely been a lot tougher,” Hosier said. “It’s state competition, it should be like this.”

Panama’s Alexys Marsh leaps to make a play at the net during Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D Tournament. P-J photo by Jo Bailey

Hosier’s Panthers responded with a strong set against Mayfield, going from 3-2 to 16-4 in a matter of minutes. A block from Schnars made it 23-11 before a soft tap from Bowen made it 24-12. Panama won 25-12 when Mayfield was unable to return a Marra Hovey serve.

Bowen finished the day with 19 kills and 25 digs while Schnars had 17 kills and nine blocks. Angeletti chipped in 19 kills and seven blocks.

“She’s a smart player. She sees the court and finds those open spots,” Hosier said of Bowen. “She came through big a couple of times.”

The matching 4-2 records in pool play for Panama and Bainbridge-Guilford set up a rematch of last year’s state final, which Bainbridge-Guilford won, 25-10, 25-14, 15-25, 25-12. That came less than 24 hours after Panama won their two pool-play sets, 25-17, 25-21.

“We’ve had adversity all season long. … They took us out of this last year. We aren’t letting them do that again,” Hosier said. “It’s unfinished business. We need to come back and finish it up.”

NOTES: Sophomore Maddie Johnson led Panama with 65 assists … In other action, Bainbridge-Guilford beat Mayfield, 25-12, 25-19; the Bobcats split with Mount Academy, 25-20, 23-25; and Mount Academy split with Mayfield, 25-12, 19-25.