HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL: CORNING TAKES FIRST SET, BUT FALLS IN SUB-REGIONAL ROUND (24 PHOTOS) (2024-11-13)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — A fast start helped Corning take the first set, but in the end the Hawks had their season end in the sub-regional round as they fell to John Jay 3-1.

Corning won the first set 25-21 to get off to a good start. From there John Jay won 25-14, 25-22, 25-16.

“The first set was amazing,” Corning coach Barb Smith said. “I think the energy continued from over the weekend. I thought after the first set this is going to be a good night. But, we started making some errors and they capitalized on them and we couldn’t make the adjustments tonight.”

Corning got off to a quick 7-2 lead in the first set.

After John Jay got back within 7-5, the Hawks got a kill from Melina Schwesinger, an Evelyn Starns kill and a Gracee Work kill to go up 10-5.

The Hawks would eventually go up 15-6 in the set. John Jay got a point back, but Sam Molingou had a kill to make it 16-7.

John Jay fought back within 16-9, before Schwesinger had a block to make it 17-9. Corning took the net two points to go up 19-9.

However, John Jay won three straight points to get within 19-12. Corning got another point, but John Jay won six straight points and were within two at 20-18.

The biggest moment of the first set came as Work fired a shot down the line and it landed just inside to put Corning up 21-18. A few inches and it would have been a one-point lead in the set, instead the Hawks went up three and they went on to close out the set.

The second set was the reverse as John Jay got off to a quick 11-4 lead.

Corning won four straight points, the last a Molingou kill, and the Hawks were within 13-10. From there John Jay scored three straight points and they eventually closed out the set.

John Jay was dominant to begin the third set. They led 4-0 and were up 7-2. Corning was down 10-5, before Molingou had a kill to make it 10-6.

John Jay extended their lead to 15-7, but Starns had a tip over and Work had a kill to cut the deficit to 15-9. Corning would get within 15-10, before John Jay went up 17-11.

From there Corning won five straight points with Work getting a kill in the run as the Hawks got within 17-16.

Bella Cabrera had a kill for John Jay to get the lead up to 18-16, but Riley Keeler made a diving dig for Corning to help them get a point and Molingou followed with a kill as the Hawks tied the set at 19.

“We were down at least eight or nine and them working together and fighting back, I think it gave them a little bit more of a spark to make it a little bit closer of margin,” Smith said. “But, unfortunately the error just kept continuing.”

John Jay scored two straight points to go up 20-18, before the Hawks got back within one.

John Jay led 21-19, before the Hawks again got within one, but John Jay eventually closed out the set 25-22.

The fourth set was John Jay again off to 7-1 and 8-2 leads.

Again Corning fought back. Molingou had a block to get Corning within 9-6. Alba Gijkoli of John Jay had a kill to make it 11-7 before Corning got back within 11-8.

John Jay went up 13-8 before Work had a kill for Corning and Madison Wood had an ace to start a 5-0 Corning run that had the set tied at 13.

John Jay then won 12 of the final 15 points in the set to close out the match.

For Smith it’s tough to say goodbye to a talented senior group.

“I have had them since they were in seventh grade,” Smith said.

The team has to replace their captains, Piper Emmick Work and Wood, along with Teresa Hacker, who had a big year as a newcomer this year, and libero Riley Keeler, who was the energy leader on the team.

“She’s a ball of fire,” Smith said of Keeler.

For Corning the season was a successful one as they were sectional champions and took the state’s seventh-ranked team John Jay to four sets.

“I am happy,” Smith said. “I know they are not happy, I think they are happy overall, but they are sad. I am sad. We didn’t want our season to end this way because we really thought we would compete and got a little further, but I think overall we had a great season.”

The future is bright for the Hawks with a JV team that won the STAC title. A pair of the JV players, Char Starns and Bella Gonzalez, had roles in the match on Wednesday. Starns had a big kill late in the second set and played big minutes in the third set, blocking a pair of shots.

“Char is young, and she has a lot to learn,” Smith said. “But, she’s improved since the beginning. She’s made some nice adjustments, she’s going to have her time. It always makes you feel like when it’s the end of your season, what’s it going to be like next year. You just never know. With the group we have coming up we’ll still compete, we’ll still be good.”

And, one of the returning players is Molingou, who is one of the better players in the state.

“Sam has grown probably as the most improved player,” Smith said. “She’s become a leader on the court, and off the court. She’s become dominant on the court and does well talking. When she first came to us she was very shy, but she’s come out of her shell and she’s taken her role as a leader on the court.”
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE MATCH:


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