The second-seeded Warriors (17-1) nipped the third-seeded Bucs 25-18, 23-25, 25-27, 25-21, 26-24.

Oswego (14-4) almost pulled off the upset against its nemesis in a remarkable, tense match full of long points and all-out effort by both teams.

In the end, Liverpool, which beat the Bucs twice in regular-season matches, got the win to advance to the Section III Class AA title match Nov. 11 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

“They beat us in tournaments and during the year,” Oswego coach Ron Ahart said of the Warriors. “To make this kind of effort, to be right in it until the end, was just awesome. It shows the kind of character these girls have.” In the deciding game, Oswego charged out to a 13-7 lead after a thunderous kill by Vanessa Sheffield and a rocket serve for an ace by Jasmine Davis. Later, when Sheffield delivered three more fearsome hits, the Bucs had built the margin to 18-10.

The Warriors dug deep — literally — to key a comeback. They fought off hard Buccaneer hits and came up with a few of their own. Jenna Street set up a kill by Tiara Gray to pull Liverpool to within 21-19. A pair of Oswego hitting errors tied the match at 21-21.

Oswego led 23-22 after a Liverpool error. Buccaneer fans, with hands beet red from clapping and throats hoarse from five games of cheering, urged the team to close it out. A hit by Liverpool’s Gray barely crawled over the net and fell to the floor, and it was 23-23.

With the score 24-24, Oswego hit a serve into the net. On the final point of the match, Liverpool’s Street blocked a Sheffield hit, and the ball fell to the floor for a 26-24 Warrior win.

Sheffield played an amazing match, collecting 36 devastating kills and one block. Also contributing outstanding hitting for Oswego were Davis (9 kills, 1 ace, 1 block), Cydney Ward (7 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks), Morgan Lavner (6 kills, 1 ace, 1 block), and Katelyn Stevens (4 kills, 2 blocks). Junior setter Krisi Stemple tallied 57 assists.

“We knew that we had to come at them with a full team effort. Everybody realized that’s what we’re about,” Ahart said. “That’s what we did.”

For a game and a half, it appeared that Liverpool would be able to hold off the Bucs more easily. The Warriors took control of the first game at the midway mark and rolled to a 25-18 victory.

The Warriors assumed a 7-2 lead in the next game before the Bucs asserted themselves. With perfect timing, incredible talent, and boundless desire, Sheffield took over with her hitting. She unleashed big spike after big spike and wore down the Warriors’ resolve. She recorded a kill to get the Bucs to within 20-19, and Oswego tied it on the next point. Liverpool made errant hits to put Oswego on the verge of the win. A set by Stemple and a hit by Lavner accounted for the final point in a 25-23 win.

The third game also went down to the wire. Oswego led 9-2, but Liverpool rebounded for a 20-17 margin. Oswego had the final say in a 27-25 win.

Game four saw the Warriors score the final three points on kills by Street and Aubrey Barrett, followed by an Oswego error, in a 25-21 decision.

That set the stage for the suspenseful finale.

Although the Bucs fell short of advancing, they accomplished a great deal this season, winning the Central New York Counties League American Division crown and coming within an eyelash of reaching the sectional championship match.

“This doesn’t tarnish our season at all,” Ahart said. “We had an awesome season. We won the league championship. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. We just fell a couple of points short at the end.” Written by Palladium Times Sports Editor Mike LeBoeuf and published on this page courtesy of the Palladium Times.