SECTION 4 VOLLEYBALL: CORNING TOPS ITHACA IN 5 SETS TO WIN SECTIONAL TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (November 8, 2025)

BY BRIAN FEES
Southern Tier Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — As Evie Starns walked off the court toward the end of Saturday’s Section IV, Class AAA volleyball title tears welled up in her eyes. 

The Corning senior had been subbed out of the game and she was needing to rely on others to keep her career going.

That’s exactly what happened as the Hawks closed out a five-set win over Ithaca in the sectional final, 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 25-22 and 19-17. 

“I’m glad my season isn’t over yet,” Starns said. “It was a great opponent, that was a really good game. As soon as I subbed out, I turned it over to the team. Mia (Madden) had a couple great serves and Char (Starns) ended up finishing it, which I was so grateful for. That would have been a sad end.”

Corning coach Barb Smith was happy with how the team fought all match. 

“Extremely proud, when you are down,” Corning coach Barb Smith said. “We won the first set pretty good, 25-18, then you lose the next two then you have to dig deep. That’s what we kept telling the. Play your game. Keep it simple, do the little things. And they fought back and they won. 

I think the key point was to make sure everyone was on the balls of their feet and on their toes. You have to see the ball all the time. I think the energy on the court and on the sidelines was a big help. Just kind of talking to them, they were nervous too. Just keeping each other up. 

Down two sets to one, the fourth set was tied at 21, with Ithaca sitting four points from winning the title. 

That’s when Sam Molingou took over, with a block and back-to-back kills to help the Hawks close out the set.

“I did not want to lose,” Molingou said. “I did not want this to be the end of my season. I figured, we are already here. We might as well finish out strong and keep going.

“We did not want this to be the end for all of them (the seniors). We know how much they want to keep playing volleyball and we want to get them their opportunity.”

The fifth set was a back-and-forth showdown. Corning trailed 8-6, before Molingou had three straight kills.

Ithaca tied things at nine, and then Kalina Korinek had three straight aces to put Ithaca up 12-9.

Corning got within 12-10, then Jillian Wood had a kill and Ithaca hit a shot wide and it was suddenly tied at 12. 

Starns had a kill and Molingou was blocked, but the ball came back to her and she tipped it over to put Corning up 14-12 and a point from the win.

Ithaca got a kill and a block and its as tied again, and then a shot by Corning went wide and Ithaca was up 15-14 and a point from winning.

Molingou had a kill to tie things, before Ithaca had a kill to again be a point from the win.

A shot went long and it was tied and Wood had a kill to put Corning a shot from the win.

However, a serve went into the net and Ithaca had the match tied again, before Char Starns closed things out with a kill and then the 6-foot, 4-inch junior used every inch of her reach to block a shot and end the match.

“Thank goodness for Char,” Evie said of her sister. “Everyone had their heart in it. It was a goal since the beginning of the season. We wanted more titles and from the beginning that was our goal and we knew Ithaca was going to be the one that was threatening us and we were preparing for it and we pulled through.”

The Hawks were dominant on offense all night long.

“At Corning we have always had a very good offense and it’s just about getting that one good pass and we are able to use all our hitters,” Molingou said. “We have a great back row, they were able to come out strong and get the passes to our setter.”

“We spent all week working on that (the offense), because we knew that’s what we needed to win and it worked,” Evie Starns said. 

Corning had topped Ithaca twice during the season, but Ithaca was the STAC West champions and the top seed. But, that underdog role suited the Hawks just fine.

“Everyone wants to be the number one seed, but you know what, we like being the underdog and we’ll take the upset. It’s one of those things, the seed doesn’t matter, it all comes down to the day you are playing and doing it on the court.

“Ithaca is scappy, they are a good team. We knew we had to change some things up today.”

Corning plays Section II at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Owego. 
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE MATCH:

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