Last year’s Chautauqua Lake volleyball team had a lot of young players, making winning three straight Section VI Class D championships a tough task, but the Eagles were unfazed and the girls team exceeded expectations, winning the section title, Far West Regional and Class C state championship.
Chautauqua Lake High School graduated with just four seniors, most notably Ava Olson, who was named MVP of the state tournament in Class D. Olson led the team with 220 kills, 104 aces and a .201 hitting percentage to go along with 332 digs and 318 assists.
Just behind Olson was fellow senior Brynn Engdahl, who was named to the All-State first team and was second in kills with 175 and digs with 349.
Despite the graduation of Olson, Engdahl and Breanna Smith, Chautauqua Lake’s youngsters are ready to step up and continue their winning tradition.
Nori Paddock will be a freshman at Chautauqua Lake after leading the team with 52 blocks and being named to the state all-tournament team and helping the team win a state title. Eighth-grader Alice Scarpine returns as libero after recording 405 digs last year. Sophomore Karagan Fairbank led the team with 383 assists and junior Janine Groop was second only to Olson and Engdahl with 152 kills.
Chautauqua Lake took home the Section VI volleyball state championship along with Portville, but they weren’t the only ones, as the Southwestern team made it to the semifinals in Albany, advancing further than any girls program in the school’s history.
That team was coached by Alexis Johnson, but this year Maddie Alexander, a 2015 Southwestern graduate, will take over as head coach.
“I was the junior team coach, but Alexis is giving birth to twins this fall, which is exciting, and I’ll be taking over as varsity coach.” “I’m excited to be taking the head coaching position at Southwestern,” Alexander said. “I’m very excited because I’m a Southwestern alumna and I’ll bring my coaching experience to the JCC. I coached with Ashley Rand for a few years and then took over the program with Sally Radney. So far, this seems like a good fit for me.”
Alexander’s biggest task in steering Southwestern’s volleyball program in the right direction will be complementing the performance of Lauren Cotter, who was named First Team All-State and All-Tournament.
“Lauren is definitely a great loss to us.” Alexander said. “I think a lot of the players who have looked up to her for a long time are now coming out of their shells. … A lot of the players who may not have played much last year are stepping up to the position and showing what they can do.”
Cotter led the Trojans with 266 kills, 142 digs, 86 aces and 37 blocks.
The Trojans will also miss second-team all-state selection Jaidyn Newhouse, who recorded 166 kills and 32 blocks her senior year.
“I had a lot of fun last year, so I’m really glad I was able to participate.” Alexander said of last year’s team. “It was incredible to get to the state tournament with our girls team and our goal this year is to finally make it again. We lost a few key players. Lauren Cotter, Jaydyn Newhouse and McKenna Bogdanovic were players who were always in the papers last year so that was a big loss for us. This year’s team is very well-rounded and I think everyone will play their role well.”
Bella Sirianni will be another key player for the Trojans after leading the team with 414 assists as a junior, while libero Payton Schwartz returns for her senior season after recording 140 digs last year.
“All of our seniors have really stepped up to do their part.” Alexander said of this year’s team. “Bella has been on the team a long time. She’s a setter, so she’s very vocal and touches the ball on every play. Shiri Dubois has also improved and will play a big role this year. Kate Miller is also a good player and communicates a lot. My seniors are definitely playing bigger roles than they did last year because of the other players who graduated.”
Like Southwestern, Randolph won a district title but lost its Most Valuable Player, Eve Adams, to graduation. Though she did not play in the state tournament, Adams was a fourth-team all-state selection in Class C. She led the team with 417 kills and 180 digs and will play at the Division I level for the UB Bulls.
The reigning Class C2 champions return senior Donilynn Sheldon, who had 138 kills, senior Avery Morrison, who had 150 digs, and sophomore Aliza Hinds, who had 617 assists.
Randolph’s season came to an end at the hands of Portville, who were vying for a third consecutive Class C state title, but Falconer played the Panthers in the Class C1 final before the Cardinals were defeated.
Falconer has just three graduating seniors but has a number of returning players who make it one of the best teams in the area, including junior Hannah Melquist, who is coming off a year in which she was named Class C fifth-team all-state after finishing with 170 kills, 430 assists, 137 digs, 90 aces and 17 blocks.
The Golden Falcons return Nayla Sharp, who led the team with 237 digs, Emily Zaranek with 119 kills, Augustine Klenser with 103 kills and 121 digs and Miley Zaranek with 144 digs.
Gowanda lost in the Class C2 final and lost the school’s leading scorer, Obree Herron, who had 139 kills last year, and libero Ella Luther, who had 459 digs, to graduation.
The Panthers return Jillian Jarnatt, who had 526 assists, Corina John, who led with 71 blocks, Elizabeth Green, who had 116 kills, Holland Browning, who had 106 kills and 266 digs, and Addison Cota, who had 234 digs.
Panama lost to rival Chautauqua Lake in the Class D final, and the Panthers graduated two second-team all-state selections, Sarah Harvey and Collin Hovey. Harvey led the Panthers with 197 kills and 54 aces, while Hovey led with 220 digs. Panama will also be without Kylie Morgan, who was second in kills with 116 and led with 46 blocks.
The Panthers, now under the direction of first-year head coach Madalyn Bowen, will rely on junior Kiera Lowberg, who led the team with 330 assists last year, and senior Kaitlyn Horton, who had 105 kills and 40 blocks last year.
Westfield was eliminated by Panama in the Class D playoffs and has graduated several key players who have been with the program since it was resurrected: Tanley Bestin’s 300 assists and Keala Kincaid’s 175 kills and 120 digs will be sorely missed, but Sydney Hotchkiss returns with 129 digs, as well as Charlie Matthews, who had 71 kills last year.
Fellow Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West member Clymer/Sherman, a Class D semifinalist, also graduated several key seniors, including Alexis Neckers, Taylor Michalski, Lily Martin, Olivia Maleski, Allison Bunting and Erica Hesslink.
Maple Grove lost most of its team to graduation: Hailey Johnson, Hannah Benson, Lily Benedetto, Harper Dawes and Ellery Yohe were all seniors last year.
Forestville returns many key players including Katie Lomant, Kalyleen Suria and Megan Gruber but lost three players from last year to graduation.
And Brocton, which rounds out the rest of the Division 2 West standings, lost more than half its team to graduation, while Cassadaga Valley only had one senior on last year’s squad.
In Division 1 West, Fredonia and Dunkirk both just graduated three girls, while Jamestown must replace six seniors from last year’s team.
In the East Division, Silver Creek graduated four seniors but returns Gracie Williams, who led last year in kills as a junior, and Josie Daniels, who led last year in digs. Pine Valley graduated only three seniors but includes leading scorers Vivian Libby with 114 kills and Jessina Miller with 95 kills and returns senior Danica Farnum, who had 225 assists last year. Salamanca graduated several seniors including leading killers Leslie Macomber (117 kills), Madison Hogg (113 digs) and Marlee Mabee (146 assists). Cattaraugus Little Valley is looking to have another promising season this year after losing only two seniors from a team that finished the season 14-5.
Get the latest news from the day and more delivered to your inbox
The Maryland Whipsnakes scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter in Monday’s Premier League quarterfinal game.
Tuesday’s schedule Boys’ high school soccer Chautauqua Lake vs. Randolph, 5 p.m. Girls’ high school…
FREDONIA – The Utility League standings are tied for first place with one week left in the regular season.