GLENS FALLS — Thomas A. Edison of Elmira defeated Chateaugay 25-21 Saturday afternoon in a special playoff, denying the Bulldogs a return trip to the championship match in state girls' Class D volleyball.
Edison will meet Cattaraugus Little Valley today for the championship. Both are seeking their first state title.
It was a tough setback for Chateaugay, which lost to Portville in last year's Class D final. The Bulldogs split with Edison and Cattaraugus Little Valley in pool play in the morning and swept Shelter Island.
Chateaugay, Cattaraugus Little Valley and Edison all wound up pool play tied; however, Cattaraugus had the advantage in the tiebreaker and advanced to the final. That meant a special playoff for Chateaugay and Edison.
Edison jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but Annie Smith's kill brought Chateaugay back at 4-4. Edison went ahead to stay on a net ace by Ali Saxe. Courtney Rosing's serve that dropped just over the net boosted Edison's lead to 16-12 and a Saxe's good block made it 22-16. Chateaugay never recovered.
Chateaugay and Edison opened pool play with Chateaugay winning Game 1, 25-23. The Bulldogs were up 16-12 in Game 2, but Edison rallied to win 25-23.
Cattaraugus Little Valley then handed Chateaugay a 25-16 setback in its first game, but the Bulldogs bounced back to win 25-21 to gain a split. Chateaugay took the lead early in Game 2 and led by six at one point.
Chateaugay had little trouble with Shelter Island, winning 25-12, 25-10.
