NYS VOLLEYBALL: TIOGA’S SEASON ENDS IN STATE TOURNAMENT POOL PLAY (2024-11-23)

By TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
GLENS FALLS — The competition was tough as Tioga went 0-3 in pool play at the 2024 NYSPHSAA Class C Girls Volleyball Championships here Saturday.

The Tigers fell to Mount Academy, 25-9, 25-18; Stillwater, 25-22, 25-14; and Portville, 25-15, 25-13. Portville and Mount Academy placed first and second, respectively, last year.

Tioga vs. Mount Academy
The Eagles took an early 2-1 lead in the first set and added a five-point run, then extended it’s lead to double digits in the latter stages of the game.

Nerves and anxious feelings could have contributed to the outcome.

“I told the kids, I said remember there's 12 teams here today and yesterday,” said Tioga Coach Ford. “There's a lot of other schools that the teams will have this weekend off so take the whole weekend in, take in the environment and enjoy the fun this weekend, because you can never get this moment back, and try to believe in yourself and your team.”

They would build a big cushion in the second set as well, building a 10-point lead at 18-8 and extending it to 23-11 before the Tigers attempted a comeback and trim the lead to 24-18.

Lilly Mezzatesta had nine kills and three kills, including one ace; Audi Zorn added three blocks, one kill and one dig; RaeAnn Feeko contributed two blocks, one kill, four assists and three digs; Kali Bailey chipped in with four points (1 ace); Jade Keaty recorded seven digs and one point; and Mia Hall added one kill.

Tioga vs. Stillwater
The Tigers jumped on an early five-point run as Bailey stepped to the service line for the final five points of that surge.

The Warriors would cut the difference to 16-14 and eventually work a 19-19 deadlock. Stillwater then moved ahead by two, but Tioga came back to tie the game at 21 and again at 22.

The mental aspect of the sport may have played a role.

“First set against Stillwater, we're up and they were happy and they were fun, and the positive atmosphere was going on. Then they made errors and the momentum went to Stillwater, and then I saw that body language happening with my kids.

“The mental plane of the game and that's what we miss as a strength, but I wasn't disappointed in them. They got here.”

Stillwater jumped out to a 10-2 lead in game two before the Tigers cut it to 12-7, but the Warriors would squash the comeback attempt with a seven-point burst to build a 19-7 cushion and didn’t let Tioga get closer than 10 after that.

Mezzatesta registered six points, two kills and a dig; Zorn had two points and one block; Feeko added three points (1 ace), two kills, five assists and two digs; Bailey pitched in with five points (2 aces), three kills and one block; Lydiah Decker had a pair of digs; Hall chipped in with two kills and a block; and Keaty tacked on seven digs, one point and one kill.

Tioga vs. Portville
Tioga scored the first four points of the opening set against the Panthers, but the favorites to win a fourth consecutive state championship, fought back to knot the score at five and pulled away with a 15-6 burst.

Portville rode a 10-4 surge to an 18-7 advantage in the second set. The Tigers battled the Panthers fairly evenly the rest of the way.

Mezzatesta contributed three digs and one point; Zorn had three blocks and a kill; Feeko added five assists, an ace and a dig; Bailey recorded four kills and one dig; Decker had three digs; Hall added a block and a kill; and Keaty had nine points and five digs.

Despite coming away without a win, the experience should be a motivator for those coming back next year.

“They had some good hitters,” Ford said. “They're a well-oiled machine. We saw them at Horseheads the end of October and it was like 13, 15 to 25, somewhere in there. I think if we could have played one of those teams right after we played Academy and the momentum in how we play defense, even though we lost it, I think that would have carried us into the next match, but your team has to sit. There's no back-to-back.”

Overall, it was a good season for Tioga, which will lose just three seniors (only one a starter) from this tournament team.

“I'm not disappointed in them,” said Ford. “They're disappointed and it's hard to say. You don't keep pushing, keep fighting when they know they just have to finish and they're not going on. And sometimes you wish you could climb inside them and help them and you can't. They have to learn as players, competitors, how to do it themselves. Coaches can't. You're there to guide them and make decisions, hoping it will help them. But you as an individual competitor have to figure things out and they've got to get the mental part. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. We haven't played three teams like this in a tournament.

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PHOTOS BY CRISTINA ROSSI.

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