Eden bests Roy-Hart in C1 volleyball semifinal

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Allie Dent, left, and Samantha Albright, go for the ball during the Rams home court sectional loss to Eden this evening.

Perennial Section VI volleyball power Eden posted a straight set 25-19, 25-12, 25-19 win over host Roy-Hart this evening in a Class C1 semifinal round contest.

Eden, which is seeded No. 4 after playing an independent regular season schedule primarily against larger schools, advances to the finals with a 14-5 record while top seeded Niagara-Orleans League champion Roy-Hart finishes at 13-2.

The Lady Raiders will face No. 7 Allegany/Limestone, a three set winner 25-17, 25-10, 26-24 over No. 3 Akron in the other semifinal, in Wednesday’s Section VI Class C1 title match.

Roy-Hart pulled even at 10-10 midway through the opening set after a run of three straight service points by Ava Brigham but the Lady Rams could not grab the lead.

Eden pulled away for a 25-19 win keyed by three point runs of service points by Emalee Ballou (17-19) and Ashley Ballou (22-24) as Brianna Rigley had a pair of spiking kills for points during both runs.

Eden used a pair of big serving runs to key the 25-12 second set win. Rigley served up points 8-11 with one ace and Emalee Ballou points 17-22 including three aces. Rigley also had a kill for the set winning 25th point.

Roy-Hart did take a narrow 12-11 lead midway through the third set after a kill by Alex Stern but Eden answered with a key four point run of service points by Emalee Ballou (13-16) to regain the lead for good. An ace capped off the run which also featured a kill by Rigley.

Emalee Ballou, Rigley and Maeve Musielak then all registered kills for points down the stretch to help the Lady Raiders close out the 25-19 set and the match.

In a Class C2 semifinal No. 2 Gowanda defeated No. 6 Wilson 25-12, 25-16, 25-15.

Roy-Hart’s Alex Stern spikes over Eden defenders Emalee Ballou (8) and Gracie Williams (11).