Storm volleyball takes down the Patriots | News, Sports, Jobs – The Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Saranac Lake’s Malea White, left, hits the ball over AuSable Valley’s Lydia Durgan during Thursday’s match at home.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
SARANAC LAKE — With four matches left in the regular season, the Saranac Lake volleyball team has started to pick up some steam.
Playing on their home court Thursday night, the Red Storm swept the AuSable Valley Patriots 3-0, winning by scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-19. The win improved the team’s overall record to 7-5.
When the two teams first met on Sept. 15, Saranac Lake nearly swept AuSable Valley on their own court by taking a 2-0 lead, but they allowed the Patriots to come back.
“I reminded them that the first time we played in AuSable, we were up two games and they took it to us and we barely beat them 15-13,” Red Storm head coach Mike Navarra said.
This time around the Red Storm solidified themselves as the better team while earning the team’s second sweep of the season and their second sweep in a row after defeating Saranac Central 3-0 on Tuesday.
“I’m psyched. This is the time to peak right now,” Navarra said. “Heading into the postseason, we have four more games left. We’re going to give it a run for — basically, the top Class C ranking to get a good seed and maybe a bye.”
Anica Null led the charge for Saranac Lake with a game-high 14 kills while adding 14 digs, seven points and three aces.
“It was great to see Anica snapping the balls down. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that,” Navarra said. “She has a lot of opportunities, but tonight she’s been on fire and I think that started against Plattsburgh … They are working together as a team. They are getting along better as a team. I’m able to now sit back on the sidelines and not coach as much.”
Malea White led the Red Storm with 16 digs, adding five points and one kill. Emily Gay recorded 15 digs and a game-high 11 points. Payton Barry had 10 digs and eight points and Lexi Donaldson chipped in nine points, five digs, two aces and one kill for the Red Storm.
“The team is coming around. Their composure is getting better,” Navarra said. “Their passing is something that we’ve needed to do because we really have some great hitters on the team and they are not showcased if we’re not getting good passes to our setter (Azra Michael).”
Michael paced Saranac Lake with a game-high 21 assists. The senior, who led the team last year in assists, currently has 236 assists this season.
“Our setter has become that much more intelligent over the past — really since Plattsburgh (Oct. 6),” Navarra said. “She’s just picking up well, she’s thinking well, she’s thinking well on her feet, she’s making better decisions when she’s in trouble.”
AuSable Valley’s Raven Sessoms had a stand-out performance. She recorded a team-high 12 digs while recording four kills, two points and two aces. Kendal Lawrence also had a solid match, finishing with 14 assists, four points, one ace and one kill. Layla Lincoln also contributed eight digs, two kills and one ace, along with a team-high five points.
Saranac Lake will travel to Lake Placid to take on the Blue Bombers on Monday at 6 p.m. The Red Storm previously defeated Lake Placid 3-2 at home on Sept. 19.