The Tompkins Cortland Community College volleyball team has been playing in a lot of tight matches lately. Saturday was no different, when the Panthers hosted Genesee Community College and the teams engaged in an exhilarating five-set match. After losing five-set matches the last two times out, the Panthers came up big against Genesee, winning 25-22, 29-27, 24-26, 24-26, 17-15. Tompkins Cortland is now 2-6 on the season while Genesee falls to 2-8.
The match was extremely close from the start. The Panthers' largest lead all day came in the first set, when a run of six straight service points by Arianna Manwaring (Tioga/Tioga Central H.S.) gave the home team the 10-4 lead. Genesee answered, quickly erasing the lead and moving in front 15-12. The Cougars held on to the lead until four straight service points by Hope Comfort (Cortland/Homer H.S.) gave the home team the lead at 21-19. It was the final lead change of the set as the Panthers held on for the 25-22 win.
The start of the second set gave the look of a set that wouldn't come down to the wire. Genesee scored the first four points and held a lead between two and six points most of the way. The lead grew to a high of nine points at 23-14, and the Cougars appeared poised to even the match with a second-set win. But the Panthers weren't done yet, and after breaking the Genesee serve, Adrianna Royce (Newfield/Newfield H.S.) stepped to the line and a rattled off ten straight points, including two on aces, to give the Panthers the lead for the first time at 24-23. A side-out tied the score at 24-24, and after failing to convert two set points, and then fighting off a Genesee set point, a Manwaring kill started the final run that gave the Panthers the second set, 29-27.
The third set was tied eight times and the fourth set was knotted 12 times before each ended with Genesee winning 26-24, setting the stage for the decisive fifth set.
Things didn't look to be going the Panthers way to start the fifth set. Madison Kelly (Moravia/Moravia H.S.) opened play with a strong serve, but a Genesee player made a diving return of the serve, accidently hitting it back over the net for a winner. The Cougars scored the next two points to lead to take an early 3-0 lead, but Ashley Hoyte (Dryden/Dryden H.S.) came up with a big kill on a tip to get the Panthers on the board. Genesee scored the next two to lead 5-1 in the shortened final set, followed by three straight from Tompkins Cortland to make it 5-4. After Genesee moved ahead 8-5, the Panthers went on a five-point run that included spectacular digs that turned into winners on back-to-back plays by Royce and Nikya Cook (Cortland/Dryden H.S.). The lead didn't last, as Genesee scored three straight to regain the lead, 11-10. The score would be tied at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, and 15-15, with each team fighting off a match-point along the way. A kill by Comfort made it 16-15, and an error by Genesee gave the Panthers the thrilling win.
Kelly led the attack with 12 kills along with 9 digs, 4 aces, and a block. Comfort and Manwaring each had 10 kills, with Comfort adding 10 digs and Manwaring blasting 4 aces. Royce filled up the stat sheet with 22 assists, 8 digs, 5 kills, and 5 aces. Hoyte was all over the court with 12 assists, 8 digs and Cook had a big day with 10 digs and 6 kills. Cassi Seng (Dryden/Dryden H.S.) pulled up 7 digs and Leah Williams (Newark Valley/Newark Valley H.S.) added 4 digs and an assist.
Looking ahead
The Panthers play at SUNY Broome Tuesday.