Volleyball: Hen Hud, Panas advance to Sunday's state championship game lineup

GLENS FALLS — Section 1 powerhouses Hen Hud and Panas aren't satisfied with just making it to Glens Falls, the site of the NYSPHSAA volleyball final four, they're looking to go all the way and emerge as champions. They both moved one step closer to their ultimate goal, navigating their way through pool play on Saturday and qualifying for Sunday's state championship finale.

"It's so surreal," Panas senior Alanna Mansell said. "When we were all walking out, just chills everywhere. It's totally insane. Even to be the top four is insane, but to be the top two, it's even more crazy."

Every game and point counts in pool play. Although both teams got off to shaky starts throughout the morning, they stepped it up in the crucial moments on New York high school volleyball's biggest stage to secure their spots in the finals.

"We knew about these teams and we really wanted to do a good job, but I think that we fell off a little bit in the middle, a couple sets," Hen Hud senior Mackenzie Calhoun said. "We're really lucky that it turned out the way it did, and I think we're going to change our attitude for tomorrow and make sure we come in with a fire."

Panas will face defending 2019 state champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the Class A finals. Hen Hud will play Long Island-based John Glenn in the Class B state championship. Both matches are scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday.

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Panas persists through pool play

Whether it was nerves or the early morning start, Panas didn't come out the way it wanted to. It split its first two matches against Section 6's Niagara-Wheatfield (25-22, 19-25) and Section 8's Wantagh (23-25, 26-24).

"We should have won both sets of our first match, but of course, instead, we wanted to take it all the way to the end and make it as competitive and stressful as possible," Mansell said. "But we really pull through in those really intense moments. We were all supporting each other. We were shanking balls, but we were getting touches and we were like, 'Great touch!' That's the energy I want to go in with for tomorrow."

Panas' final match was against defending champion Burnt Hills, who bulldozed its way past the other two teams in pool play behind the play of All-Americans Carlie Rzeszotarski and Callie Chevalier. Panas needed to win one set in order to clinch a spot in the finals, but if it got swept like the other two teams, there would be a three-team playoff tiebreaker.

The Panthers proved to be the Spartans' toughest challenge yet. Just as they dug deep to even the series with Wantagh, they rallied from a late 24-18 deficit to tie it up at 24. Panas weathered the momentum swings and won, 28-26, clinching a spot in Sunday's final and handing Burnt Hills its only loss of the day.

It was Panas' best showing of the day, and it came through against the state's top-ranked team in Class A.

"If we could do that more often and not wait until the very end to play like this, it would be great," Panas coach Ashley Felipe joked. "But they have a lot of heart and heart wins championships."

The final game was a formality, and Burnt Hills won that, 25-18, dropping Panas' official pool play record to 3-3. However, the Panthers are ready for a rematch.

"They have very hard hitters, we just have to go for every single ball and keep on top of each other," Panas senior Maddy Mulroy said. "Just stay consistent. When we let up, play scared and tense, we tend to drop in points and have a deficit that's unwanted, but when we really need it, we just really push through and push each other up more, like this is it. This is what we've been working for the entire season, all three months together."

Hen Hud sweeps Broadalbin-Perth to secure Class B state finals berth

Hen Hud opened pool play strong, defeating Section 3 champion Marcellus in the opening game, 25-18, but then the Sailors started to lose some momentum. They lost their final game against the Mustangs, 16-25. Then, they got off to a slow start against John Glenn, losing the first game, 20-25, before bouncing back to win a pivotal second game, 25-16.

"It's a really stressful day for everybody, because you got to really be on," Hen Hud coach Diane Swertfager said. "You never know. It's a crazy game. If you're not on, the other team makes great plays, and you're in trouble. When we came out 2-2 to start with, that was not a good performance by us. A lot of silly mistakes, which gave them free points, and then we had some tremendous playing after that."

Heading into its final match of the day, Hen Hud needed to sweep another returning state semifinalist in Broadalbin-Perth from Section 2 in order to clinch a finalist spot. Although Broadalbin-Perth entered its meeting with Hen Hud winless in pool play, the Sailors did not take it easy.

"We kind of knew it was all or nothing," Calhoun said. "If we didn't win, then we weren't going to stay for tomorrow. We had an urgency that we think we needed for all of our games."

Hen Hud didn't leave anything to chance or a tiebreaker playoff, dispatching Broadalbin-Perth with a brand new lineup, 25-6, 25-11. In the final game of the day, the Sailors overcame an early 11-9 deficit with a 16-0 run to close the match.

"We're a young team, we only have two seniors," Swertfager said. "I think everybody rose. I was really proud of all the kids. They responded to new challenges, and it's one point at a time tomorrow."

The Sailors turn their focus to John Glenn. The undefeated Long Island team appeared to live up to the billing of being the top-ranked Class B squad in the state, defeating Hen Hud in wire-to-wire fashion in the first set. However, Hen Hud returned the favor in the rematch, giving John Glenn its only loss of the day.

After splitting the series in pool play with John Glenn, Hen Hud hopes to learn from Saturday's experience and emerge triumphant in a full match with the Knights.

"We looked at John Glenn as our biggest competition," Calhoun said. "Looking at them, being able to split with them — honestly, we went into this saying maybe we'll go 4-2, but those two losses will both be to John Glenn. Knowing we could beat them, especially by as much as we beat them by in the second game, that gives us a new fire for tomorrow."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Volleyball: Hen Hud, Panas advance to Sunday's state finals