Local Sports

Portville, defending state champion, edges Chautauqua Lake

PORTVILLE -- The Portville girls volleyball team has won every Section VI Class C volleyball championship since 2014 and the Panthers have claimed the last five New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.

In recent years, Portville has seldom been tested in the sectional playoffs and has cruised to several of its state titles. However, with three losses in the regular season, the Panthers looked beatable to some teams in Class C.

That set the stage for the Section VI Class C semifinals on Monday with No. 1 Portville hosting No. 4 Chautauqua Lake -- which is ranked second in the state, according to the New York State Sportswriters Association -- making for a state-level competition. The undefeated Eagles showed they were right on the level of Portville with a 25-23 win in the first set, but the Panthers hung on in the back-and-forth contest that finished in five sets with the streak staying alive 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13.

"Any time you play Portville there is a lot of hype behind it," Chautauqua Lake head coach Joanne Meadows said. "I think with the team I had this year everybody thought it would be a great match and it was a great match. I really can't ask a lot more from my kids than what they did. We had a couple of times where we made a few mistakes, but it's high school volleyball (and) there is going to be mistakes. I'm very proud of the way they played. It was an awesome match and I think it lived up to what everyone thought it was going to be."

In a rematch of last year's semifinals, Chautauqua Lake showed it was up to the task, unlike last year when the Eagles were quickly swept. Falling behind 20-15, the Eagles were not fazed by the score and seized the momentum at the end of the set with runs of four and three in a 25-23 win.

"I think it absolutely gave us a boost," Meadows said about winning the opening set. "Last year we came here and got absolutely swept and bombed. When they came in this year and took the first set that definitely increased the momentum for us for a little while. Volleyball is such a momentum sport, so that really makes a difference."

The loss was Portville's first in the Section VI playoffs since 2022 when it dropped one set against Eden in the final.

Chautauqua Lake rode that wave into the second set and jumped to a 5-1 lead that included two big kills from freshman Brina Jacobson and an ace by senior setter Karagan Fairbank.

Although, just like in the first set, the early lead did not matter as both teams were more than capable of putting together a run. With Ana Haynes at the service line, Portville scored six straight to take control of the contest and another run of four had the Eagles on the ropes 18-12.

Sydney Williams was on the line for Chautauqua Lake as it brought the score level at 20-20, but Portville managed to stay alive to win the second set 25-22.

Early in the third set it looked like all Portville needed was a win as the Panthers jumped out to an early lead 8-2, but once again it did not matter. Chautauqua Lake did not wait as long to fight back with quick runs to get back in the contest before five straight points gave the Eagles a commanding 19-13 lead and triggered a Portville timeout.

"I think these kids have been playing together for a little while and they're not a team that gets down a couple of points and gives up," Meadows said about her group handling adversity. "We talked about it before the game that there are going to be times where we're losing a game and we might lose a set. That doesn't mean it's over and we don't stop playing until the last whistle on the last point. They don't ever feel like they're out of a game until the end. In an 8-1 run I get a little antsy, but they stay composed and play well."

Portville did not go quietly in the loss, but a huge Alice Scarpine kill put Chautauqua Lake one set away from an upset.

Falling behind early again in the fourth set never put any worry on the Eagles or their fans after doing so in the third and coming back. However, when Portville jumped up 9-2 in the fourth the closest Chautauqua Lake would get back would be 10-6 as the Panthers cruised to a 25-15 win.

The decisive fifth set was a microcosm of the match as it was back and forth with Chautauqua Lake leading 8-6 into the break highlighted by some huge kills from sophomore Kinslee Motter. However, it ended with a familiar result over the last 12 years in Section VI Class C volleyball, Portville pulling away to win 15-13.

"This, to me, should have been a finals game," Meadows said about Monday's semifinal. "I say every time about how many power points we get going into this, it should have been a 1-2 seed in my mind. For volleyball in the area it says an awful lot, most high school volleyball games don't look like that. Both teams played fantastically well. I think both teams have kids who play club and put a lot of time in the offseason and it shows. I really think if you want to have a team that looks like this, you have to put time into the offseason and both of these teams do that."

With one side having its season end in the sectional semifinals it almost guarantees some of the best Class C volleyball players in the state might not get the recognition they deserve for New York State. Standing out for Portville were Gaitley Maiolo with 19 kills, Leigha Stives had nine kills, Ava Scanlon added six kills, Marissa Carls delivered 33 assists and Ana Haynes made 30 digs. Then Chautauqua Lake (15-1) was led by Motter with 18 kills, 17 digs, two assists and two blocks, Fairbank provided 33 assists, nine digs, three aces and two kills, Williams had five kills, five digs and an ace, Makenna Smith pulled 21 digs and three assists, Jacobson scored nine kills, an ace, an assist and 21 digs and Scarpine had eight kills, 15 digs and two assists.

"Karagan, Kenna and Sydney all have a state championship in Class D," Meadows said about her starting seniors. "They all came up when they were very little and played on that team, Karagan was a starter on that team. Just the leadership and they’ve been there before, they know what to look for and what to expect a little bit. Those are definitely kids that are tough to lose. You go through a little bit of a grieving process when you're a coach and you've had those kids since they were little and they were my managers when they were in second grade."

Portville (15-3) will take on No. 7 Randolph (12-7) in the sectional final at Jamestown High School on Thursday night at 7:30.

"Kinslee, Brina, Alice," Meadows said about the future. "Those kids are so, so solid. Alice was on that state championship team, she was the starting libero and this year she made a transition from libero to outside hitter and I think she's done a fantastic job. Brina is just a freshman and she definitely dominates at the net and does great for us. Kinslee is just an amazing kid and those kids put time in. I think we had 120 something practices, open gyms, tournaments between the end of last season and this season and Kinslee was (at) 97% of them. When you have a kid that puts the time into it like that it's nice to see that pay off."