Upper seeds continue to hold the upper hand in Section III’s winter volleyball playoffs, and just one seedings upset has happened in the tournament’s first two rounds.
Seven of the eight semifinal spots have been filled in the playoffs’ four classes with Owen D. Young/Richfield Springs, the No. 1 seed in Class D, having a rescheduled quarterfinal match to play Monday against Stockbridge Valley.
The top four seeds in classes A and C all advanced to the semifinals, as did Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in Class D. Canastota, the No. 5 seed in Class B, defeated No. 4 General Brown in five games to earn the final spot in that final four which also includes the top three seeds.
Class A Rome Free Academy, Class B Holland Patent and Class C Beaver River all advanced, keeping three 2025 champions active. Class D Cincinnatus had been knocked out in the opening round as a No. 11 seed.
Semifinal matches are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and all four finals will be played on Valentine’s Day at Central Valley Academy in Ilion.
Here’s a quick look, class-by-class, at the quarterfinal action in the tournament.
Class A
New Hartford and Rome Free Academy, the top two seeds and opponents in the last two sectional finals with each winning once, swept into the finals with Rome Free Academy (18-2) beating Proctor 25-16, 25-11, 25-11 Friday and unbeaten New Hartford (18-0) following with its 25-13, 25-16, 25-9 win over Central Valley Academy.
The semifinal opponents will be No. 4 East Syracuse-Minoa (13-7) for New Hartford and No. 3 Carthage (13-6) for Rome Free Academy.
Neither New Hartford nor Rome Free Academy has been beaten by another opponent since Whitesboro beat them in back-to back matches in December of 2022. New Hartford has won seven of 11 head-to-head matches since then, including both of this season’s meetings, but Rome Free Academy has won two of three playoff contests.
Class B
The Canastota upset sets up a rematch of last year’s championship showdown. The fifth-seeded Raiders (17-3) led 1-0 and 2-1 against General Brown on the way to a 25-13, 22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-10 victory Friday, and they play on the road again in the semifinals at No. 1 Holland Patent (13-6).
Holland Patent advanced Thursday with a 3-0 sweep of the Adirondack Wildcats, and the Golden Knights have now won six consecutive matches and 10 of their last 11.
Canastota was seeded first last season and Holland Patent second before the Golden Knights won the championship match in four games.
The other semifinal, scheduled for Tuesday, pits No. 2 South Jefferson (7-6) against No. 3 Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (11-7). South Jefferson had lost four of five matches over the final month of the regular season prior to a 26-24, 25-14, 25-17 quarterfinal win over Oneida. Vernon-Verona-Sherrill defeated Sherburne-Earlville 25-5, 25-11, 25-14; six of the Red Devils’ seven losses were against Class A foes with the lone Class B defeat coming against Holland Patent, a team Vernon-Verona-Sherrill had beaten earlier in the season.
Class C
Two-time defending champion Beaver River (13-0) enters Thursday’s semifinal against Sandy Creek (11-5) with 49 consecutive victories; the Beavers are 65-1 since the start of 2022-23, losing only in the 2023 sectional final.
Beaver River advanced Friday with a 25-22, 25-16, 25-16 victory over Sauquoit Valley, and the Beavers defeated Sandy Creek early in the regular season; the teams had a second scheduled match canceled during the final week of the season.
Mt. Markham (20-0), the No. 3 seed, is also undefeated, having beaten Little Falls 25-11, 25-14, 25-16 Friday. The Mustangs have a 92-3 record since the start of 2021-22, having been beaten only in sectional championship matches.
The Mustangs play on the road in the semifinals at No. 2 South Lewis (14-3), a 25-23, 25-16, 25-14 winner over Lowville Academy Friday. Each of South Lewis’ three losses was against Beaver River, most recently January 31.
Class D
Town of Webb (11-7), the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 5 Morrisville-Eaton 3-2 Thursday and does not yet know its next opponent. The Timberwolves await the winner of Monday’s match.
No. 2 Remsen (16-3) defeated Faith Heritage of Syracuse 25-16, 25-18, 19-25, 26-24 Saturday for its seventh consecutive victory, and the Rams play at home again Wednesday against Tully (16-3), the No. 3 seed and a Class D newcomer.
Tully, winner of 10 matches in a row, defeated Fabius-Pompey 25-19, 25-10, 25-14 Friday. Like Remsen, Tully was beaten twice by Mt. Markham during the regular season, and the Black Knights have traditionally competed in Class C.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Upper seeds continue to dominate winter volleyball playoff results
Reporting by Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
