NTL VOLLEYBALL: CANTON HOLDS OFF NEB FOR SWEEP (2021-10-22)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
ROME — Canton may have come out of Northeast Bradford with a sweep, but the pesky Panthers didn’t make it easy in NTL volleyball action Thursday. The Warriors only out scored NEB by nine points for the match, and won two of the sets by just two points.

“I knew it would be a tough game, and they definitely showed up to play,” said Canton’s Jillaney Hartford. “East set was way too close for my liking, but we proved that we can power through, and win.”

Canton won the first set 27-25, the second 25-20, and the third 25-23 to stay on top of the NTL Division-II standings. They remain one game ahead of Williamson in the lost column, with two league matches left.

“We picked each other up, and did whatever it took, and came out on top,” said Hartford. “We’re a small group of girls this year, but we’re proving that it doesn’t matter when we play together.”

Hartford finished with six kills, one assist, one dig, and two blocks, as Aislyn Williams had nine points, three aces, nine kills, 13 digs, and one block.

Trisha Gilbert had 20 points, two aces, two kills, and 11 digs, while Rachel Martin finished with 14 points, six aces, two kills, one assist, and four digs.

Keri Wesneski added 10 points, six kills, and 10 digs, Allyson Butcher had three points, two kills, 25 assists, and six digs, and Marissa Ostrander finished with four points, a kill, and 12 digs.

For NEB Emily Susanj had five points, 17 kills, and one assist, as Lauren Lewis finished with three kills, seven assists, two aces, and 13 points.

Gabby Susanj had three aces, 13 assists, six points, and a kill, with Megan Kovacs getting an ace, six points, and two kills.

Emma Neuber had six points, and two kills, Kiarra Delaney finished with two points, and an assist, Toni Herb had three assists, and Alexis Corter had a kill.

The first set was back and forth early, but an 8-point stretch saw Canton break a 6-6 tie to go up 14-6. Gilbert served up seven of those points, and during that run Hartford had three kills and a block.

NEB, though, battled back, and cut it to 16-15 with a run of their own as Neuber served up seven straight points for the Panthers. The Warriors struggled to get their spikes down - they had four that were out - while Kovacs and Lewis had kills for NEB.

Canton would try to pull away, building a 19-15 lead, but every time they made a move, NEB countered. Then, when it was 22-17 Warriors, NEB would got on a 5-point run to knot things up at 22-all, as Emily Susanj had two kills and a block during that stretch.

The Warriors would score twice to go up 24-22, but back to back kills from Emily and Gabby Susanj tied things up at 24-all. 

A Hartford kill put Canton on the brink, but a net serve tied things up at 25-all. Back to back kills from Wesneski and Williams, though, ended the game in Canton’s favor.

The second set saw Canton jump out to a 7-1 lead, as Williams had two aces during that span.

A Lewis kill ended the Warrior run. She followed that up by serving up eight straight points to give NEB a 10-7 lead. During that span she had two aces herself, as Emily Susanj had a kill, and a block.

Martin would bring the Warriors back, serving up three points, including two aces, to see her team go up 11-10.

That was followed by the Panthers rallying behind Gabby Susanj’s serving, as they took a 15-11 lead. During that stretch Gabby had two aces, while Neuber had a kill.

Down by four points Canton then showed why they were the defending district champions by going on a six point spurt to take a 17-15 lead. They had four straight kills at one point - two of them by Wesneski.

NEB would tie it up at 17-all, but another four point run in Canton’s favor saw them take a 21-17 lead.

The Panthers would close it to 21-19, but that’s when Wesneski had the hit of the night. Running out of bounds near the net, she bumped it over her head. The ball just avoided the official, stayed in bounds, and came down just inside the NEB side of the court for a rally killing point. 

Up 22-19, Canton would score three out of the next four points to take the second set.

It was tight early in the third set with no team able to get more than a 2-point lead, until Canton, up 7-6, rattled off six of the next eight points to build a 14-8 advantage, largely on the strength of Gilbert’s serving, who had two aces during that stretch.

An Emily Susanj kill stopped the bleeding, but only for a moment, as three straight kills from Canton - two of them off a Williams swing - put the Warriors up 17-9 as they looked to run away with the final set.

It didn’t happen that way, though, as the Panthers would score seven of the next eight points to cut it to 18-16, behind two kills and a block from Emily Susanj.

A pair of kills from Wesneski and Williams helped Canton regain control, and go up 21-16, but a 3-point spurt by NEB got them back in the match.

NEB would get it to a 1-point set three times down the stretch, but the Canton defense held. In the end, Williams had the final say, ending the set and match on a kill.

Despite the third game setback Emily Susanj did everything to keep her team in it, with eight kills in the set, including four right off the bat for NEB’s first four points.

But it wasn’t enough for a Canton side that buckled down when they needed to.

Canton won the JV match 25-10, 25-19.

Maddie Hulbert had four aces, four digs, five assists, and one kill for the Warriors, as Hannah Kendall added an ace, two digs, one assist, and three kills.

Mae Kinner finished with two aces, four digs, one assist, and eight kills, while Addi Pepper had two aces, three digs, nine assists, and one kill.

Gabby Spencer notched an ace, two digs, and two kills, with Ostrander getting two kills, and Wesneski four digs.

Canton travels to Troy on Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. start as part of Troy’s Pink Out, while NEB will host Sayre.

PHOTO CAPTION: Canton’s Jillaney Hartford goes for a kill…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING