Red Storm advance to sectional title | News, Sports, Jobs – The Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Saranac Lake’s Azra Michael sets the ball during Thursday’s Section VII, Class C semifinal contest against Northeastern Clinton.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake volleyball team is moving on and is now one win away from a fifth-straight Section VII, Class C championship.
Playing at home, the Red Storm swept the Northeastern Clinton Cougars 3-0 by scores of 26-24, 25-19 and 25-19 in the sectional semifinal on Wednesday.
Despite advancing to the program’s sixth-straight sectional championship, Red Storm head coach Mike Navarra said he wasn’t impressed by his team’s play.
“I think they played hesitant. I think they played very nervous,” Navarra said. “I think they are realizing that the postseason is a different beast and the 16 games that we play mean nothing. But NCCS showed up to play and I think that the next team we play — whether that be Saranac or AuSable — they are going to be in the championship and they are going to want to beat us. We have the target on our back. We’re the defending champions.”
The Cougars put immediate pressure on Saranac Lake by jumping out to a 7-3 advantage in the opening set. After both squads traded points back-and-forth, the Red Storm took their first lead of the match at 17-16.
Saranac Lake’s Emily Gay hits the ball over the net during the first set of Thursday’s Section VII, Class C semifinal contest against Northeastern Clinton. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
However, the lead didn’t last very long, as Northeastern Clinton went on an 8-5 run to make the score 24-22. Saranac Lake then utilized a 4-0 of their own to close out the first set on top.
“They showed up to survive, they didn’t show up to win,” Navarra said. “We need to dominate. We need to work hard. We need to get all of our serves in and we need to have all of our top-level players perform and that’s what we need.”
Things looked much better for the Red Storm when they got off to an 11-3 run in the second game and then jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third. However, the Cougars never fully gave up and quickly erased the third-set lead with a 7-1 run. Saranac Lake ulitmately closed out the set with an 18-12 run.
“Their play came together. We had to go to the bench and we had to depend on a lot of our bench players to come in and they did a phenomenal job,” Navarra said. “Specifically, Swae Connor, Catera Ratelle and Kathleen Montroy. Our bench stepped up and supported the team. I think that’s what it boils down to, we need a team that is going to show up and perform … that’s it.”
Connor had five points, two aces and two digs off the bench, while Montroy chipped in three points, three aces and two digs. Ratelle had four digs.
Saranac Lake’s Lexie Donaldson gets ready to serve during Thursday’s Section VII, Class C semifinal contest against Northeastern Clinton.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
Junior Anica Null paced the Red Storm on all sides of the court, with 25 digs, 12 kills, 12 points and seven aces. Junior Emily Gay also had a solid outing with 15 points, seven digs, three aces, three kills and one block.
Saranac Lake’s Azra Michael had 21 assists, 13 digs, three points, three aces and two kills, while Malea White had 12 digs, four kills and one point. Lexie Donaldson chipped in eight digs, four points, one ace and one block. Payton Barry had seven digs, three assists, three kills, two points and two aces.
With the win, the Red Storm improved to 10-7 on the season. The team is slated to take on AuSable Valley in the sectional championship game on Saturday at Saranac Central High School. The match will be played at 2 p.m.
“It’s the postseason, we’re one game away,” Navarra said. “Hopefully they show up on Saturday to play and I hope they play hard. But we got the win tonight, I guess that’s all that matters.”