money Volleyball: Hen Hud sails into state regional finals with sweep of Section 4 champ Owego
MONTROSE - The opportunity to host a state playoff match in your own gym doesn't come around often.
Hen Hud's gymnasium had been the site where the Sailors dedicated hundreds of hours of hard work, battled for hard-fought wins and evolved from a young team to one that was now one step closer to Glens Falls.
"In August, we looked like the 'Bad News Bears,' and I think the kids would fully admit that," Hen Hud coach Diane Swertfager said. "I said, 'Look, trust me and believe in all of us, and we will get better.' I am pleased with their belief in me as a coach, at my age and experience, but also with the other staff members and then each other. We have great leaders in Fran Tissoni and Mackenzie Calhoun, two seniors. Without their leadership, and Amya Davis' leadership, where would we be right now?"
With one final match at home, the undefeated Sailors took care of business once again, sweeping Section 4 champion Owego, 25-14, 25-13, 25-19.
"Our fan section was crazy, and I think that helps us and motivates us a lot," Tissoni said. "Seeing our friends and the people we love makes us play stronger, plus, it was our last home game for the seniors, so we just wanted to make it count."
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Owego scored the first point to open each of the first two sets. Hen Hud quickly responded with scoring runs and blitzes to take the lead. The Sailors rode the momentum and pushed the lead into double figures in the first and second sets, before going on to comfortably clinch them both.
"They were very confident and flowing today," Swertfager said of her team. "They had better concentration as the season progressed, and I love the way the setters are running the offense. Passing was much better, footwork was much better, just everything — the basics really came alive today, so I was really proud of them."
In the third set, the Indians battled. They started strong, using a 5-0 run to take an early lead. Hen Hud settled back in and caught up to Owego. After a back-and-forth stretch, the Sailors called for a time out after an ace by Sophia Palladino gave the Indians a 17-15 lead.
After the break, Hen Hud went on a 10-2 run to win the third set and seal the match.
The Sailors advance to Saturday's Class B state regional finals, where they will take on Section 9 champion New Paltz. New Paltz won the section title as the No. 6 seed and upset top-seeded Spackenkill in the Section 9 finals.
"I honestly think we haven't peaked yet," Calhoun said. "I think that we're still going up, and I'm really happy about it because if you looked at us a month ago, we were definitely not here. I think we're still going up and hopefully, we peak at states."
Turning point
Hen Hud went on a run midway through the second set to push its lead into double figures. It went on to win the set, 25-13, to take a comfortable 2-0 lead for the match.
Player of the game
Mackenzie Calhoun, Hen Hud: The senior setter did a bit of everything in her final home match. She had 19 assists, five aces, five digs, four kills and eight service points.
By the numbers
Hen Hud (24-0) — Amya Davis had 16 kills, four digs and an ace. Marta Przybylowska had five kills, five aces, eight digs and 14 service points. Ryan Calhoun had three kills, four aces, six digs and 14 service points. Vera Montalbano had three blocks and an ace.
Owego (11-4) — The Indians are the 11-time defending Section 4 champs. The Tioga County power is young this season, with only one senior listed on its roster and will be in prime position to reload. Sophia Palladino had four kills, nine digs and three aces. Alex Senko had 14 assists and eight digs.
Quotable
"I think we've kind of realized that we have a shot at doing something bigger," Calhoun said. "During the regular season, it was always like, 'Wow, we're undefeated!' That's great, but then we got to the end of the season, we were like, 'Oh my God, we can actually go all the way.'"
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Volleyball: Hen Hud moves on to state regional finals, sweeps Owego
