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February 20, 2009

B'town favored in volleyball

PLATTSBURGH — Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

It was true when William Shakespeare penned the immortal reference to Henry IV more than 400 years ago and it still holds today — just ask anyone trying to make sense out of the Section VII Class B volleyball championships of late.

Not since 2001 when the Plattsburgh High Hornets won for the third consecutive year has a team repeated as Class B champion. The Hornets and their arch-rivals, the Beekmantown Eagles, have tried a number of times since, but come up short. For that reason, the Eagles, even with their perfect record during the regular season, have to feel a little bit uneasy today, heading into a championship showdown with — who else? — the Hornets.

Beekmantown (16-0) and Plattsburgh (15-2) will meet in the Class B final at Plattsburgh State's Memorial Hall at 2:30 p.m., following the Class C championship at 1 p.m. where Northern Adirondack will try to make it 25 in a row — this time at Lake Placid's expense.

Since 1997, Plattsburgh High has won six titles and Beekmantown, five. Peru broke through in 2002, but no other team has since.

PHS and Beekmantown have taken turns winning the title since 2003, meeting in every final except 2005 when Northeastern Clinton fell to PHS.

And, how's this? The Hornets have won every championship in an odd-number year since 1997 while Beekmantown has played its best volleyball in the even years. More food for thought for fickle fans today.

Last winter, PHS was the favorite, coming off a season sweep of Beekmantown. The Eagles then upset the apple cart, winning the Class B championship contest in three straight — 25-21, 25-22, 26-24.

This time around, Beekmantown rates the nod with its unbeaten record and twin wins over PHS. However, the two wins were eerily reminiscent of PHS's sweep last year that led to the Eagles' ambush. In 2007-08, PHS won the initial meeting in four games and then outlasted Beekmantown in five. In 2008-09, Beekmantown won the first meeting in four games and then was all out to win the rematch in five.

In the second meeting on Jan. 2, PHS led Beekmantown 2-1, but the Eagles rallied to win games 4 and 5, 25-17 and 25-15.

Rosi Cummings and Brittany Lapham, the stars of last year's sectional show, came up big for Beekmantown, along with Krstyen Kotowski and Colleen Bradley who held serve for 31 points.

The Gist sisters — Josella and Roshell — were outstanding in both battles with Beekmantown. The former Saranac players helped PHS overcome some big losses to graduation. Kayla Hoopes, Hannah Emery and setter Ashley Menard also will have step up for PHS today.

Northern Adirondack (5-11) struggled through its leanest winter in quite some time, but the Bobcats still are rated the favorite over Lake Placid (1-15) for the Class C championship today.

—

Section VII Volleyball

Class B Championships

2008 — Beekmantown 3, Plattsburgh 0

2007 — Plattsburgh 3, Beekmantown 1

2006 — Beekmantown 3, Plattsburgh 1

2005 — Plattsburgh 3, Northeastern Clinton 1

2004 — Beekmantown 3, Plattsburgh 2

2003 — Plattsburgh 3, Beekmantown 0

2002 — Peru 3, Plattsburgh 0

2001 — Plattsburgh 3, Beekmantown 2

2000 — Plattsburgh 3, Peru 1

1999 — Plattsburgh 3, Peru 0

1998 — Beekmantown 3, Plattsburgh 1

1997 — Beekmantown 3, Plattsburgh 0

Class C Champions

1983- 2007 — Northern Adirondack

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