So coming into the Class C1 final on Thursday night the expectation was that Eden would continue its streak and knock off No. 3 Southwestern with ease.

However, the underdog Trojans didn’t plan on going down quietly. Eden pulled away in four sets, but was pushed in each one, winning 25-14, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 to claim its 24th sectional championship in a row.

“They’re always tough,” first year Southwestern head coach Alexis Johnson stated. “They’ve been tough for 27 years, but I think our team knew that. They came in and really wanted it and they fought really hard.”

Southwestern led for the first half of the opening set, getting up 10-7 at one point. Then the Raiders came alive by outscoring the Trojans 18-4 to close out the first set 25-14. The way the Raiders finished, it looked like the crowd was in for a quick match.

Southwestern’s Bella Sirianni passes to a teammate during Thursday’s Section VI Class C1 championship match against Eden at Brocton Central School. P-J photo by Jason Bower

Then the second set came and it looked like the Trojans were not even fazed by Eden’s dominant finish.

Southwestern’s early lead this time got as high as 10-5, but once again Eden rebounded with a six-point run that made things 13-12. At that point in the first set, Southwestern folded and Eden ran away with it, but something changed for the Trojans. They kept fighting and stayed right with Eden.

Even getting down 21-18, Southwestern continued to battle. The Trojans scored seven of the next eight points to rally back and win, putting Eden on its heels.

“That’s something we’ve maybe struggled with in the past,” Johnson said about having games get away from them. “So it was phenomenal to see in a game like this against a team like this they did such a good job. They fought hard until the very end, which is so hard to do in volleyball if you get down. It’s hard to build back up and they did, so I was super impressed.”

The second set showed Eden that Southwestern meant business and set the stage for an intense battle in the third set. Unlike the previous sets, Eden led early and it was Southwestern playing from behind.

Trojans’ Arrington Restivo sets the ball to a teammate. P-J photo by Jason Bower

Eden built its lead up to 18-12 and the Trojans called a timeout. Johnson settled her players and before you knew it they were right back in the match. Southwestern managed to pull within one point, but its late push was not enough as it fell 25-23.

In the final set, both teams were even halfway through, but it was the Raiders who pulled away first and held on for a 25-21 victory and their 27th consecutive Section VI volleyball championship.

“They’re just such a good group of girls,” Johnson said about her team. “They’re so much fun to coach and so much fun to be around. It’s a blast, volleyball or not, they’re so much fun to have.”

The young Southwestern (16-4) squad graduates two seniors in Arrington Restivo who had 18 assists, eight digs and two aces; and Arya Butterfield who added an ace and a block. But returning for the future is Lauren Cotter who had 15 kills, 15 digs, two aces and a block; Jaidyn Newhouse with seven kills and an ace; Bella Sirianni adding 10 digs, three assists and an ace; and Leigha Sischo who made four kills and an ace.

“We’re going to miss our seniors for sure,” Johnson said about the future. “But I am happy to be bringing back eight other girls and a lot of great girls on JV. I think that we’ve got a few good years ahead of us.”

Eden’s (18-1) victory sets up another showdown with Class C2 champion and defending state champion Portville (19-0) on Monday at Brocton.