Down year for four-time defending champs upended
The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael
Digging deep: Sara Gannon tries to keep the point alive for Voorheesville during the final regular-season match against Cohoes on Monday; the Blackbirds won in three straight sets (25-5, 25-14, and 25-13). Voorheesville (8-7) finished in second place in its Colonial Council division; the team won four consecutive league titles from 2010 to 2013.
The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael
Getting over: The Voorheesville volleyball team beat Cohoes in straight sets (25-5, 25-14, and 25-13) on Monday to finish the regular season at 8-7 in the Colonial Council. Here, sophomore Lauren Mackey hits the ball, top right, over the net. The Blackbirds play at Hoosic Valley today in a Class C sectional match.
The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael
Ready to block: Kimmy McQuade, left, and Elizabeth Bablin defend at the net for Voorheesville on Monday as a Cohoes shot fails to make it over. The Birds beat Cohoes in three sets.
The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael
Eileen Thompson hits a jump serve for Voorheesville during its match against Cohoes on Monday; the Blackbirds served well in the victory. Voorheesville ended the regular season at 8-7.
VOORHEESVILLE — After owning the Class C volleyball title since 2010, Voorheesville’s championship reign looked to be over but on Thursday the Birds soared again. Voorheesville had been seeded 11th for the first sectional game, against Hoosic Valley, but ended up with a victory.
In the previous four seasons, the Blackbirds hadn’t lost a Colonial Council match. This year, Voorheesville finished 8-7 in the league, tied with Cobleskill for second place in its division.
“We’re building the team back up,” Head Coach Ashley Swint said this week.
Voorheesville graduated four very effective players from the 2013 championship team — Libby Bjork, Caroline Bablin, Tori Hargrave, and Erin Gannon. Swint said that the Birds have been trying to find a potent offense this season.
“We’re rebuilding [the team] at every position, not just one,” Swint said when The Enterprise asked about the void left by Bjork, who was an all-star setter. “It’s being felt everywhere.”
In its straight-set victory (25-5, 25-14, and 25-13) over Cohoes at home on Monday, which capped off the regular season, Voorheesville served the ball very well. Eileen Thompson, Kimmy McQuade, and Sara Gannon were all serving bullets in the first set. The Blackbirds’ winning point came on an ace by Gannon that clipped the back line.
“She has a lot of movement on her serve, so it’s hard to track,” Swint said of Gannon. “She gets a lot of aces for us.”
McQuade, who had three excellent serves in a row — two of them were aces — to close out the match against Cohoes, has a high serve percentage, Swint said. “She gets us a lot of points,” she added. “Everyone has a different aspect to their serve.”
Has Voorheesville served well for the entire season?
“It depends on the match,” said Swint. “We either execute well or we don’t; it’s been a struggle of sorts. If one girl misses [a serve], then it causes a snowball effect.”
All in all, the Blackbirds aren’t the powerhouse that it used to be. Swint wasn’t really sure of what effect this had on her players.
“They’re fighting so hard, working hard, and just trying to do their best,” said Swint. “You just stay positive and try to focus on the little things. We’ve been in every match, and some have been really intense. We could have swung three more wins.”
On Thursday, in the Class C prelims, Voorheesville clawed its way up from its 11th-seed spot to beat Hoosic Valley 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, and 25-18. The Birds play at third-seeded Fonda on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
“We’re going to play the best volleyball that we can,” Swint said before Thursday's match prescient statement.