Local Sports

Repeat champions

Ellicottville goes back to back in Class D

Ellicottville graduated five seniors from last year's 18-6 team that won a Section VI Class D championship.

New head coach Danielle Norton admitted this was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

Nobody told the Eagles.

After dropping the first set Thursday, No. 7 Ellicottville rallied for a 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22 victory over No. 1 Cassadaga Valley to clinch another Class D title at Jamestown High School's McElrath Gymnasium.

"I have a very young team, but they are workers," Norton said. "They wanted longer practices, they wanted more practices. They wanted to hold on to that title. They worked. They are just that kind of team; they are gritty."

Next up for the Eagles, who won the fourth sectional crown in program history, is a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regional date with Section V's champion. The Rochester area will decide its representative Tuesday at Avon High School.

The loss ended a banner season for Cassadaga Valley, which won the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 4 title and was two sets away from the program's first sectional title since 1977.

“Obviously, this isn’t the outcome we wanted. We came into tonight believing we had an opportunity to accomplish something special, and I know how much this group wanted to bring that championship home," Cassadaga Valley head coach Melissa Kelly said. "While it’s difficult knowing how close we came to ending a championship drought that dates back to 1977, one match does not define this team or the season they’ve had."

Ellicottville actually jumped out to an 8-1 lead in Thursday's first set, only to see the Cougars rally and tie the game at 17-all on a kill by Liz Lewis. A pair of kills by Kailee Lacki and an ace from Eliana Katilus eventually gave Cassadaga Valley a 22-19 lead before Lacki later closed out the set with another kill.

"We had to keep our composure," Norton said about dropping the first set. "We talked about being the hardest-working team in the room, mental toughness, staying on top of that next point and forgetting anything that had already happened."

The second set was tied as late as 14-all before the Eagles began to pull away. With Riley Whitmer at the service line, Ellicottville scored five straight points to go ahead 20-14. The Cougars closed to within a point late, but hit back-to-back balls out of bounds to give the game to the Eagles.

"We definitely were aiming for seams. That was something that we decided from the scouting report, that they struggled with the seam serves," Norton said. "Honestly, normally our serving is a little tougher than it was tonight. We lost a lot of serves, more than usual."

Ellicottville jumped ahead 10-5 with a Briyona Tarr ace in the third set and a Cassadaga Valley timeout did little to slow the Eagles' push. Three service errors by the Cougars helped Ellicottville take an 18-10 lead and the Eagles eventually won the game on a tip kill by Karle Northrup.

"We definitely thought we could score some points with tips on them," Norton said. "We didn't expect to do as many tips as we did, but it was working."

An Alexis Pattyson kill gave Cassadaga Valley an 11-5 lead early in the fourth set and a Lacki kill that later made it 15-10 led to an Ellicottville timeout. But Katie Lafferty put together a run of four kills in a six-point span that eventually tied the game at 17-all.

"Katie is a weapon for us. When one of our hitters is off, spread it around the net and find some other options," Norton said. "Katie was on fire tonight. That worked for us."

Back-to-back long spikes and a violation on the Cougars made it 20-17 in favor of the Eagles.

"It was just a good example of picking each other up. My two outside hitters were not necessarily on with swings, but they were able to deliver some tips," Norton said. "We just carried each other through the battle, which we knew it would be."

The lead grew to five on kills from Northrup and Tarr to make it 22-17, and Ellicottville eventually won the match when Cassadaga Valley's final serve of the night landed long.

"What I will remember most about this group is the way they competed for one another. They’ve learned to trust each other, overcome challenges and continue to push one another to be better," Kelly said. "I’m incredibly proud of the growth I’ve seen in these young women, both as volleyball players and as people. They have accomplished things that haven’t been accomplished in this program in a very long time, and they have given our school and community so much to be proud of."

Now the Eagles will look to have their season last one round longer than last year when they were swept by York in the state quarterfinals.

"This team is always ready for a battle," Norton said. " ... It's always 0-0 to them. They hustle and fight for every point."

NOTES: For Ellicottville, Northrup had 18 kills and 11 digs; Lafferty had seven kills; Shiloh Miller had 27 assists, three aces and six digs; Marlee Maynard had 22 digs and three aces; and Whitmer had 17 digs, four kills and six aces. ... For Cassadaga Valley, Pattyson had 13 kills and five digs; Lacki had 10 kills, 13 digs and two aces; Melanie Myles had 38 assists, 17 digs and an ace; Chloe Lundberg had three aces and six digs; Anna Burlingame had five kills, four digs and an ace; Lewis had five kills and two digs; Katilus had 24 digs and two aces; and Mia Fanara had five kills and four digs. ... No. 1 Avoca/Prattsburgh and No. 3 Elba will play for Section V's D2 title at 5 p.m. today at Letchworth High School, followed by the D1 championship match between No. 1 York and No. 2 Pavilion.