Lakeland 3, Suffern 0
Tuesday, Oct. 27, Lakeland High School
Third seed Lakeland, ranked No. 12 in the Class AA state poll, won against No. 14 Suffern 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-14) in the opening round of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament, led by Kelly Mallon with 18 digs, 10 kills; Sofia Cruz with 14 assists, 6 kills; Caelyn Faison with 6 kills, 4 blocks; Amelia Mallon with 15 assists; Mia Aquart with 5 kills, 10 digs; and Ava Stabile with 10 digs.
“The biggest key to our win was realizing that playoffs are a whole different level,” Cruz said. “We knew we had to come in with more energy and intensity because every game counts now. I think everyone really stepped up and came ready to play, and that made a huge difference for us.”
Lakeland 3, Scarsdale 0
Friday, Oct. 30, Lakeland High School
Lakeland won its quarterfinal match with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) triumph versus No. 6 Scarsdale.
Kelly Mallon said the win “felt awesome.”
She added that “Scarsdale is a very good team especially to play in the second round, so sweeping them was super nice.”
Kelly Mallon with 19 kills, 5 digs; Cruz with 18 assists, 8 digs; Faison with 7 kills, 3 blocks; Amelia Mallon with 8 assists; Aquart with 5 kills, 7 digs; Stabile with 8 digs; and Maebh Rooney with 3 blocks ignited Lakeland to the win.
“We were able to win because we played as a team and not as individuals,” Kelly Mallon said. “Everyone worked super hard not only for themselves but for the people next to them. We kept a positive attitude throughout the whole game and that’s how we were able to come away with a win.”
Lakeland will host No. 7 Harrison in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. A win there would put the Hornets in the sectional title game for the second time in three years (2024 they were in Class A), at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Westchester County Center.
Yorktown 3, Yonkers 0
Tuesday, Oct. 27, Yorktown High School
Highlighted by Emma McCoy (4 digs, 11 kills, 1 block, 4 aces) recording her 500th-career kill, fifth seed Yorktown, the No. 19-ranked Class AA team in the state, defeated No. 12 Yonkers 3-0 (25-15, 25-6, 25-14) in the opening round of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament.
“Earning the opportunity to be exposed to so much competition and reaching big goals is something I’ll always be grateful for, especially as a sophomore,” McCoy said. “Reaching 500 career kills was my goal since the beginning of this season, and it’s a feeling like no other to see your hard work come out how you envisioned it. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches, who are always supporting me.”
Sophia Delgado (7 digs, 1 kill, 5 aces, 14 assists), Nina Fasce (1 dig, 2 aces, 11 assists), and Haley Allen (9 digs, 4 aces, 2 assists) also stood out for the Huskers.
Yorktown 3, Ursuline 1
Friday, Oct. 30, Ursuline High School
Yorktown defeated No. 4 Ursuline 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 24-26, 25-21) in the quarterfinals.
It’s the second year in a row Yorktown defeated Ursuline on the road in the sectionals. Last season, the Huskers beat Ursuline 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-21) in the semifinals, en route to their first sectional title since 2013.
“My team was able to come out with the win because we had high energy from the start which gave us great momentum and everyone just played to win,” Fasce said. “The whole team wanted this win so we got it. It felt great to win quarterfinals because we practiced every day to get here and to see everyone have great chemistry on the court, really showed how hard we worked and how we will continue to play hard.”
Propelling the Huskers to the victory were Delgado (10 kills, 3 kills, 1 ace, 18 assists), Mia Horn (12 digs, 3 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 2 assists), Angelina Piechucki (9 digs, 2 kills), Fasce (14 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace, 13 assists), Allen (13 digs, 1 kill, 3 assists), Ella Chibbaro (7 blocks, 2 kills), Olivia Brackett (3 digs, 9 kills, 2 blocks), and McCoy (19 digs, 17 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces, 1 assist).
“It was an amazing, defensive game,” said Yorktown coach Gigi Kemp.
Yorktown next hosts No. 8 Roy C. Ketcham in semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. The two teams split two matches during the regular season, sharing the league title.
A win would give the Huskers the opportunity to defend its sectional title against the winner of Lakeland and Harrison.
Lakeland 3, Brewster 2
Tuesday, Oct. 27, Brewster High School
Isaac Arias (19 kills, 6 blocks), Van Bui (11 kills, 28 assists), Erdin Dedushaj (10 kills, 1 block), Joseph Kim (20 assists), Luke Numme (5 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces), Ben Mathew (3 aces), and Logan Tolve (10 kills, 1 block) ignited Lakeland to a 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11) victory against Brewster.
“During the beginning of the game, little mistakes blanketed over our whole match, from the pressure of their crowd,” Bui said. “Eventually changes in our own mindset helped stay focused in the game and stopped us from developing detrimental mindsets that hold our team back. We were able to hold our composure and take control of the game which eventually led to us winning the game.”
Lakeland 3, Ossining 1
Wednesday, Oct. 28, Ossining High School
Lakeland won against Ossining 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-23), led by Arias (13 kills, 3 blocks) and Bui (9 kills, 18 assists), in its regular-season finale.
The No. 5 Hornets will host No. 12 Rye-Rye Neck-Blind Brook at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2 in the opening round of the Section 1 Division 2 Tournament.
Yorktown 3, Somers 1
Monday, Oct. 26, Somers High School
Yorktown defeated Somers 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 25-16), led by Sid Shenoy (18 kills), Aiden Peechatt (26 assists), and Nick Jacobs (9 kills, 4 blocks).
Yorktown 3, Croton Harmon-Briarcliff-Hen Hud 1
Tuesday, Oct. 27, Yorktown High School
Yorktown ending its regular season with its fifth straight win by defeating Croton Harmon-Briarcliff-Hen Hud 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 26-28, 25-16), with Shenoy (32 kills), Cooper McGowan (24 assists), and Anton Ubozhenko (14 kills) doing the honors for the Huskers.
“This final stretch of games in these last couple of weeks have been some of the best volleyball we have played as a team,” Shenoy said. “It comes down to the fact that we wanted and needed to carry the momentum from these few games into a final playoff push. That drive and motivation is what allowed us to play to the level that we have been playing at.”
Yorktown earned the No. 3 seed and a bye in the Section 1 Division 2 Tournament, which the Huskers are defending champs of. They will host a quarterfinal contest between the winner of No. 6 Eastchester and No.11 GNC/Hastings on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Yorktown 44, Nyack 6
Thursday, Oct. 29, Nyack High School
Eamon Coney (14/18, 210 passing yards, 4 TDs, 6 carries, 38 yards), Tyler Caricati (14 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 43 yards, 2 tackles, 1 for loss), Jarron Sligh (5 receptions, 129 yards, TD, 2 carries, 43 yards, 2 tackles, 1 for loss, safety), Anthony Cappelli (2 receptions, 19 yards, 2 TDs, 2 tackles), Frank Ofrias (2 receptions, 19 yards, TD), Ryan Fastiggi (6 tackles, 1 for loss, sack), Noah Beitler (3 tackles, interception), Brayden Guss (4 tackles, sack), Jaden Renzo (2 tackles, interception), Joe Longobucco (2 tackles, sack), Luan Sinanaj (4 tackles), Dom DeBellis (4 tackles), Jack Corcoran (4 tackles), Ethan Phillips (sack), and Noah Kachmar (6/6 PAT) helped Yorktown end its season in style with a 44-6 win in a crossover contest against Nyack.
“It felt amazing to go off on a win even though the season didn’t go as planned,” said Caricati, a senior running back. “I couldn’t have asked for it any other way and I’ll never forget these memories I’ve made with my team.”
The Huskers gained 437 yards offensively, behind its offensive line of senior center Sinanaj, junior guards Jospeh Cermele and Nick Guven, and junior tackles, Myles Forden and Joseph Kalkowski.
John Jay-Cross River 3, Yorktown 1
Tuesday, Oct. 27, John Jay-Cross River High School
No. 10 Yorktown fell to No. 2 John Jay-Cross River 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament. Kayleigh Hung scored with Silvana Milizia recording 8 saves for the Huskers.
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