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Randolph sweeps Gowanda

Gowanda’s Jada Geiger battles Randolph’s Eve Adams at the net during Wednesday’s CCAA East Division match in Randolph. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

RANDOLPH — The only remaining threat to the Randolph volleyball team for first place in the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association East Division is second-place Gowanda and on Wednesday night the Cardinals made some more breathing room.

In Randolph’s first meeting with Gowanda it bested the Panthers in four sets, but on Wednesday the Cardinals improved and won in a sweep by scores of 25-19, 25-17 then 25-22.

“My team has been playing really well,” Randolph head coach Bayley Johnson said. “We’ve had some challenges with injuries. So I’m really proud of my team for working hard and making adjustments every match.”

With the victory Randolph (12-2, 10-0) has just four remaining league matches and three of them come against the bottom three teams in the East Division. While Gowanda (10-2, 10-2) has just two league matches left and will need a perfect run and a little help if it hopes to tie up with Randolph atop the standings.

All three sets were close matches until it got toward the end and that’s where the Cardinals took over. In the first two sets, Randolph closed out with three-point runs and prevented Gowanda from reaching the 20-point threshold and in the final set managed to fight off a late push for the sweep.

Gowanda’s Jill Gernatt sets up a teammate during Wednesday’s CCAA East Division match against Randolph in Randolph. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

“We’ve been talking a lot about that,” Johnson said about closing out sets. “We have to finish. I’ll say we have a few strong hitters that are able to put the ball away.”

Eve Adams continues to shine for Randolph as she was all over the court with 20 kills, seven digs, three aces and three blocks in the victory.

“Eve Adams leads our team,” Johnson said. “She’s a great player, but they’re all playing so well together.”

But in order to get the sweep it takes a team effort and a big help came from Amanda Adams with 13 assists, five digs and a block; Kameron Luce had seven assists and an ace; and Avery Morrison made 10 digs and two aces.

Gowanda’s best set was the third, but it didn’t start that way as Randolph scored the first five points. The Panthers managed to battle back for a close finish with both teams within a point of each other in the 20s. Gowanda’s late effort forced a timeout from Randolph at match point and whatever was said seemed to get the Cardinals back in focus as they won on the next Gowanda serve 25-22.

“Gowanda is a great team and always a great match for us,” Johnson said about her team’s improvement since first playing Gowanda. “I think we made some improvements in the area of our defense, we definitely worked on that because they have some strong hitters. Then of course putting the ball away when we need to.”

Gowanda’s effort was led by Wassy Stevens with six kills, 10 assists, seven digs and three blocks; Jill Gernatt had 12 assists, four digs and two aces; Aubrie Heron made five blocks, four kills and three digs; and Ella Luther added 24 digs.

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