ILION – Section III crowned its four 2025-26 winter champions for volleyball Saturday, Feb. 14, and each wrote its own story.
Holland Patent repeated as champion in Class B, New Hartford and Mt. Markham won title round rematches from the 2025 finals in classes A and C, and Tully earned a title in its first year of Class D competition.
New Hartford swept the Class A match after the first three went four games. Holland Patent, Mt. Markham and Tully each trailed 1-0 in its way to victory.
Class A: New Hartford 3, Rome Free Academy 0
New Hartford’s Spartans defeated Rome Free Academy in the final for the second time in three years and beat the Black Knights for the third time this season to complete a 20-0 season.
The Spartans, winners of 58 of 60 matches since a season-opening 2023-24 defeat, broke away from a 9-9 tie in Saturday’s opening game, winning 16 of the remaining 21 points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
“’Dominant,’” New Hartford coach Bill Gardinier said of the Spartans’ performance. “That’s the only word I’ve got for you.”
Games 2 and 3 saw New Hartford take earlier leads on the way to completing a 25-14, 25-17, 25-15 sweep of Rome Free Academy (19-3), an opponent it had previously beaten 3-1 home and away in matches played two weeks apart in January.
“The kids have been looking forward to this since last February,” Gardinier added. “They played their best volleyball today.”
Junior Keegan Matthews, already New Hartford’s career leader in kills, put down 15 with team-highs of four blocks, three aces and 16 digs in the championship match.
“We worked all season for this,” said Matthews, a fourth-year varsity player for the Spartans who graduate three seniors. “We worked so hard; we just wanted it so much.”
Senior Ashlee Fisher added 12 kills and 13 digs, sophomore setter Clare Colantuoni had 35 assists and 13 digs, sophomore Lena Qandah had seven kills, and junior Avery Evans recorded three blocks.
Senior Jenna Presti and junior Sophia Spada led Rome Free Academy with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, and senior Brooke Egresits had 30 assists.
New Hartford beat Rome Free Academy 3-1 in the 2024 final in Watertown, and Rome Free Academy won 3-2 in Ilion last year. The Black Knights were also 2023 champions, having beaten the Spartans in the semifinals and Whitesboro’s then-Warriors in the 3-1 final that year.
Section III holds competitions in six classes ahead of the fall state tournament, and West Genesee (AAA), Fayetteville-Manlius (AA) and Homer (A) won 2025 titles in the three classes that compete together in Class A in the winter.
“We’re the best Class A team in the section,” Gardinier said after defeated the Black Knights from a larger school, “and they’re the best triple-A.”
Rome Free Academy has six departing seniors, and coach Pete Keoviengsamay is departing after five seasons and two championships.
Class B: Holland Patent 3, South Jefferson 1
The Holland Patent Golden Knights made it two sectional championships in four years since their move from the Center State Conference to the Tri-Valley League with Saturday’s 22-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22 victory over South Jefferson’s Spartans.
“’This is it. You do it if you want it,’” Holland Patent coach Lisa Aiello said she told her team after the first game, adding, “We’ve had various games throughout the year where we were able to come from behind.”
The Golden Knights (15-6) were tied as late as 16 in the first game before the Spartans (8-7) won the next two points and pulled away. South Jefferson was within one point at 17-16 in the second game and Holland Patent dominated the third. Needing a win to extend the match, South Jefferson started the fourth game 6-2 and kept it close until the end, leading 21-19 when Holland Patent called its second timeout; the Golden Knights won the next three points to take the lead, and closed the match by winning the final three points after South Jefferson tied the score at 22.
“I wanted to close it out,” Aiello said when asked about the safety net offered by a potential fifth game.
Junior Ava Roberts led Holland Patent with 19 kills, senior Annabella Schrader had nine, and junior Ava Larry had eight. Abigail Fostyer had 22 assists and Savannah Dipini had 12, and the Golden Knights served 12 aces led by Julia Callahan with four.
Holland Patent defeated Canastota 3-1 in last year’s final, completing its climb after the league switch saw the Golden Knights win three matches – and none in TVL play – two years earlier.
Class C: Mt. Markham 3, Beaver River 1
The Mt. Markham Mustangs evened the score with a 22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-13 victory in their fourth consecutive championship round clash with the Beaver River Beavers.
“’I want Beaver River to win because I want to play them,’” Mt. Markham coach Terry McKane recalled one of the Mustang players saying following their victory at South Lewis Wednesday before learning the result of the other Class C semifinal.
That Mustang got what she wanted, and the team earned its ultimate goal: a seventh sectional championship for the program.
The Mustangs (22-0) had last won the 2023 title while Beaver River (14-1) entered Saturday’s match seeded first as the two-time defending champion.
“Four in a row with this one,” McKane said. “It just feels good to break even.”
Beaver River trailed early in Saturday’s first game before tying the score at 10. Mt. Markham called its second timeout while trailing 23-17; Beaver River would miss its two remaining serves but took a 1-0 lead in the match.
Game 1 was only the sixth lost by Mt. Markham in match play this season.
“We came out a little tight,” McKane said. “We had to loosen up, and we just kept getting better.”
The late momentum from the opener carried over to Game 2 with Mt. Markham taking a 5-0 lead. Game 3 started 5-1 for the Mustangs who took a 2-1 lead by pulling away after Beaver River pulled even at 10.
The teams traded points to 4-4 in Game 4 before Mt. Markham went on a scoring run that produced 10-5, 15-7 and 20-11 leads and helped the Mustangs close out the match.
Layla Rice, one of five Mt. Markham seniors, had 13 kills and 22 digs, and classmate Kyra Piersma added 10 and 14. Junior setter Savannah Wilcox had 42 assists, three aces and 16 digs, and sophomore Teagan Roth had 31 digs and served three of the team’s 11 aces.
Madison Abbott led Beaver River with 11 kills, and setter Kaelyn Boliver had 25 digs and served three of the five Beaver aces.
Mt. Markham has won 77 of 79 matches over the last four seasons, losing only the two sectional finals against Beaver River.
Beaver River has won 66 of 68 matches over the last four seasons, losing only the two sectional finals against Mt. Markham.
Class D: Tully 3, Owen D. Young/Richfield Springs 1
The Tully Black Knights, new to Class D, earned their first Section III title since beating Mt. Markham in Class C in 2022.
The Black Knights (18-3) defeated Owen D. Young/Richfield Springs 22-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-22, ending a 15-match win streak for the top-seeded Wildcats (16-2) who were trying to add a Section III volleyball title to the Section IV crown their Richfield Springs-based soccer squad won in the fall.
Owen D. Young/Richfield Springs won the first game which saw the teams go almost point-for-point after the Wildcats pulled even at 10. Tully had started the first game 9-5 and opened the second 7-1 on the way to tying the match at one game each.
“You have to win one of the first two,” said Jeremy Cook, Tully’s coach and coach of Class A Homer’s sectional championship team in the fall. “You have to get momentum.”
The Black Knights sided out following a timeout tied at 20 in Game 3 and earned the next four points to take a 2-1 lead. The fourth game followed a similar pattern with the teams tied as late as 18-all.
“I never want to go to five if I can help it,” Cook said. “You make just a couple mistakes and you’re out of it.”
Ella Lund, one of nine seniors on the Tully roster, led the Black Knights with 11 kills and seven blocks. Maddy and Ana Lund had 43 and 36 digs, respectively, and Anna Lund added 29 assists, three kills and five blocks. Maddy Lund’s digs included the 1,000th of her varsity career.
Hunter Ough led Owen D. Young/Richfield Springs with 12 kills and seven blocks, and Jocelyn Bosc and Mersades Young each added nine kills. Sophia Spencer had 30 assists and 19 digs.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Holland Patent repeats; two teams get payback in volleyball title games
Reporting by Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram / Times Telegram
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