Saranac Lake’s Sophie Cazek plays ball during Wednesday’s contest. (Corporate photo — Parker O’Brien)
LAKE PLACID — With the playoffs on the horizon, the Saranac Lake volleyball team closed out its regular league season with a 3-1 win over Lake Placid on Wednesday night. The Red Storm outscored the host team by scores of 25-13, 25-15, 17-25, and 25-15.
Head coach Susan Waters said Saranac Lake didn’t have some typical players. However, their efforts were still enough and they improved to 11 wins and 5 losses overall. This is the sixth time since 2018 that the school’s volleyball team has won 11 or more games in a season.
“We tweaked the lineup a little bit, but I think the girls did a really good job.” Waters said. “Half of them were playing in unfamiliar positions. They played good defense and we were able to put the ball in their court in some strategic spots. It was great, so I was very satisfied.”
On the other side of the court, Lake Placid coach Sandy Huber thought her team played well, but the Red Storm’s defense was only marginal. “Exceptional.”
“They were able to hit our holes a lot and push us through the set.” she said. “They found a weakness in our defense and took advantage of it early. We tried to adjust and then our hitters adjusted. They did a really good job of hitting the open spots. .”
Lake Placid’s Ireland Cassidy prepares to play ball in Wednesday’s home game against Saranac Lake. (Corporate photo — Parker O’Brien)
Four players recorded double-digit hits. Lexi Donaldson led the team with 20 digs, followed by Alice Radu with 17, Sophia McBride with 13 and Sophie Zazdek with 10 digs. In front of the net, Mackenzie Crane recorded one block, making things difficult.
“I’ve been using Mackenzie Crane more often in midfield. She’s also been following me.” Waters said. “I’m really happy with her progress. I think that will play a big role (going forward).”
McBride had a standout performance for Saranac Lake, scoring a team-high 12 points. McBride and Cazek also had four aces each to lead the Red Storm with 16 aces.
“Saranac Lake’s serve was definitely tough.” Huber said. “They had a lot of aces, but only the serves came very fast and fell very quickly. We tried our best to pass some balls, but some were too fast. I did.”
The Red Storm struggled on both serve and defense, leading to two consecutive set wins to start the match. Although the score was tied at 9-9 in the third set, the Blue Bombers were able to shake off the Red Storm with a 10-3 victory and take the set.
Saranac Lake’s Mackenzie Crane (left) tries to block a shot by Lake Placid’s Brooke Meyer during Wednesday’s game. (Corporate photo — Parker O’Brien)
But Saranac Lake took a 16-6 lead in the fourth set and never threatened the rest of the way. Their efforts were enough to record a season sweep over Lake Placid.
“I think we had good chemistry on the court, so we’ll take that into consideration (heading into the playoffs).” Waters said. “We didn’t have a lot of substitutions, so I think that helps at times. When the guys stay on the court, sometimes it helps them stay in the game a little bit and stay focused.”
Nora Galvin paced the Blue Bombers with another triple-double with 17 assists, 16 digs, 11 points, six aces, and six kills. Galvin currently has seven triple-doubles and two quadruple-doubles.
Lake Placid’s Ireland Cassidy and Brooke Beeney also had strong nights defensively, each recording 10 digs. Cassidy also had two blocks.
“(Beanie) was very good at serve-receiving.” Huber said.
Next, the Blue Bombers, who fell to 4-13 overall, will take on the Northern Adirondack Bobcats in the Section VII, Class D championship game at Au Sable Valley High School on Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. do. The team has defeated the Bobcats twice this season.
“We won both, but they put up a really good fight.” Huber said. “NAC always plays with heart, is a real hard worker and never drops the ball. They practice staying focused for long rallies and being aggressive even when they are tired and worried about a tight score. I want to focus on my play.”
Saranac Lake enters the Section VII, Class B tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Red Storm will play the second-seeded Beekmantown Eagles in the semifinal round Monday at 6 p.m. in Beekmantown. The Eagles, 15-4 overall, beat Saranac Lake twice during the regular season by an even score of 3-0.
personal statistics
LP — Nora Galvin 6 aces, 11 points, 6 kills, 17 assists, 16 digs. Kelsey McKillip 7 points, 2 kills, 7 digs. Brooke Meyer 9 kills. Fiona Sullivan 2 aces, 3 points, 2 kills, 1 assist, 5 digs. Haley Ramea 2 points, 2 kills, 2 assists, 9 digs. Ireland Cassidy 1 ace, 3 points, 8 kills, 2 blocks, 10 digs. Regan Lamott 8 digs. Brooke Beaney 10 digs. Emma Wylie 1 dig; Addis Livesey-Ferry 1 point, 1 dig; Sophie Spanberg 1 dig.
SL — Alice Radu 9 points, 1 ace, 3 kills, 9 assists, 17 digs. Emily Gay 8 points, 2 aces, 4 kills, 1 assist, 4 digs. Lexi Donaldson 3 points, 2 aces, 3 kills, 20 digs. Lori Shenaille-Schenck 9 points, 3 aces, 7 digs. Sophia McBride 12 points, 4 aces, 4 kills, 13 digs. Sophie Cazek: 7 points, 4 aces, 3 kills, 7 assists, 10 digs. Mackenzie Crane 6 kills, 1 block. Marley Logan 3 kills, 1 dig. Melody Costigan 1 point, 4 digs. Two Whitney Warner songs.
