Churchville-Chili won their first boys volleyball Section V title in 11 years and the program’s ninth overall last year. They began defense of their championship with a decisive three-game sweep over Spencerport in the season opener for both teams.
The Saints ran out to an 18-4 lead in the first game, with six different players recording kills led by a block and one kill by John Keele and Joe Wollke on their way to an easy 25-10 victory.
They duplicated their early success in game two, jumping out to a 9-1 lead as Ben Munding registered one kill and one block, and Griffin Stella one block and two aces during the run. Spencerport finally found some offensive rhythm outscoring the Saints the rest of the game 22-16 led by three kills from sophomore Samuel Lane and senior Garrett Bonacci. The Rangers closed to within three points of the lead before falling 23-25.
The third and final set of the match was a see-saw affair that featured six lead changes. The Rangers led by as many as four points at 19-15 before the Saints came charging back with three kills from Stella and single kills by Caleb Smith and Munding to seal a 25-23 win.
Lane finished with eight kills while classmate Robert Jackson led the Rangers with 12 digs.
The Saints were paced by Stella’s 10 kills and six digs, Wollke’s 24 assists with three blocks and five digs, Keele’s five blocks, Munding’s eight kills, and John Bagley’s six digs.
