Southwestern’s Jaidyn Newhouse jumps with excitement after scoring the final point to win the Far West Regional on Saturday at Victor High School.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
VICTOR — Prior to this Saturday no Southwestern girls sports team had qualified for states. Playing in its first Far West Regional after capturing its first sectional title, the volleyball team had a chance to go where no team has before.
Just like it has all postseason long, Southwestern made its Class B Far West Regional look easy against the Section V Champion Livonia. In a game that was hardly ever in doubt, the Trojans swept the Bulldogs 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 at Victor High School to advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
“We are overwhelmingly happy,” Southwestern head coach Alexis Johnson stated. “This is the first time that any Southwestern girls team has ever gone to states. Between administration at the school and the community we’ve had a lot of people backing us up. It definitely makes a difference, this is such a monumental time for our program, for our school and it couldn’t feel any better.”
Battling nerves all morning, Southwestern got settled into the first set about halfway through the match and began to run away with the game as Livonia struggled to string together points.
Southwestern’s strong first set finish carried right into a dominant second set which had Livonia scrambling.
Southwestern senior Jaidyn Newhouse strikes home the final point to send the Trojans to states.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
An early run of five triggered a Livonia timeout, then as the game slipped away further the Bulldogs called a second timeout in the middle of a six-point run which they went down 22-14.
“It does a lot for our confidence,” Johnson said about her team playing perfect in the playoffs. “We entered playoffs 10-6, we had a lot of tough competition throughout the school year and I think coming into playoffs nobody expected a 10-6 team to come this far. It’s awesome to see how hard the girls have worked throughout this.”
The first and only time Southwestern looked to be in trouble was the third set in which Livonia managed to establish leads at 9-5 and 17-12, both times causing Johnson to call timeouts.
“The nerves were for sure here all day long,” Johnson added. “Just knowing we’re at a point that not a lot of other people get to and that we’re going to make history if the girls do win. So I think the girls felt a lot of pressure all day and it definitely showed on the court sometimes. There were times they did some things they shouldn’t have done, but it did work out.”
That second timeout really did the trick as Southwestern went on a nine-point run to steal the lead at 21-17. Now really in the driver seat it was apparent the Trojans would be going to states as they grinned out the 25-21 victory.
Southwestern wears its States Bound shirts after winning the Class B Far West Regional, becoming the first girls athletics program at the school to reach states.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
“I know that the girls have been working hard,” Johnson said about her team’s effort. “There have been some good teams that we’ve played against and I think they’ve really showed out. They’ve worked so hard through every single point throughout the playoffs and it shows. I’m glad to see that we haven’t dropped a set yet in playoffs, it’s amazing.”
Rallying in the third set preserved the Trojans perfect postseason in which they had not lost a single set en route to the state championships.
“I went to states 10 years ago,” Johnson said about her playing career at Randolph and now where her players are heading. “I’ve been telling the girls how much fun it is, there’s a banquet, you get to dress up, there’s an award ceremony. You get to see the best volleyball players from the whole state there, there’s so much going on it’s such a big ordeal… they’ll have so much fun.”
The Trojans were once again led by seniors Lauren Cotter with nine kills, nine aces, two digs and a block; and Jaidyn Newhouse with 10 kills, three aces and a block. Junior Bella Sirianni set up the offense with 24 assists, four digs and four kills, and McKenna Bogdanowicz made five digs and three assists.
“Our seniors been with us a long time,” Johnson stated. “One of them has been with us since eighth-grade, the other ones have been with us longer than I’ve been here. All three almost play all the way around, they’re great, great athletes. They’re great leaders and I think that’s the biggest part, they’re leading the rest of the team, they’re showing them the way, they’re working hard to keep everyone together. They do so many things that are not volleyball related, we’re gonna miss them so much.”
Southwestern celebrates together after winning the Class B Far West Regional.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
Southwestern also continued the run of Section VI teams qualifying for states, joining Chautauqua Lake in Class D, and fellow league opponent Portville in Class C.
“As it stands right now, Chautauqua Lake is going to states, Portville is going to states and we’re going,” Johnson added. “I think our area just works really, really hard volleyball-wise. We’ve got a lot of great competition throughout the year, I think it helps us get ready for playoffs for sure. Even though none of those teams are in our class it’s fun to play them because it’s tight competition. We didn’t come out on top a ton during the year against those tight teams, so it’s good to see our girls pulling together for playoffs.”
Southwestern senior Lauren Cotter leaps up for one of her nine kills in Saturday’s Far West Regional.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
Southwestern’s Siri DuBois strikes the ball during Saturday’s Far West Regional at Victor High School.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
Southwestern’s Lauren Cotter goes up for a block during the Class B Far West Regional on Saturday at Victor High School.
Southwestern holds the Class B Far West Regional plaque after defeating Section V’s Livonia in three sets at Victor High School on Saturday.
P-J photo by Christian Storms
