Riders repeat Patroon volleyball champs
HUDSON — Ichabod Crane won its second consecutive Patroon Conference boys volleyball championship on Tuesday with a 3-0 victory over Coxsackie-Athens at Hudson High School.
The Riders won by scores of 25-10, 25-17 and 25-21.
The win was Ichabod Crane’s 18th without a loss this season, a record that comes as no surprise to coach Sean Connors.
“We won it all last year, we had nine guys coming back and a lot of these guys have been with me for four years so, yes, I expected to win every game we played,” Connor said. “This is one step in our goal. You always want to win the last game you play.”
Connors was proud of his team’s effort, but cautioned their job is not done yet.
“The embraced my motto of taking practice seriously,” Connor said. “I told them we had to take practice even more seriously than most of our games, which they did, to their credit. It also helps to have nine seniors that know what it takes to get there and what it takes to win the big game.
“I’m proud of them, but we have two more games we have to win to make that ultimate goal.”
Harrison Puckett had 6 kills, 15 assists and 1 dig for the Riders. Cam Ames had 4 kills and 3 digs; Dean Warner 16 kills, 4 digs and 1 block; Jake Siter 9 kills and 3 digs; Trevor Wolfe 17 assists and 3 kills; Ryan Tricozzi 6 kills and 2 blocks; Bobby Boll 1 dig and Jared Cook 7 service points and 3 digs.
“Harrison Puckett played really well and Ryan Tricozzi stepped in and did really well,” Connors said. “Ryan’s not even a starter. He filled in for one of the middles we were missing, so he played very well and I’m just very proud that they stepped up.”
Now that the the goal of repeating as Patroon champs has been accomplsihed, the Ridrs set their sites on Section II Class B and state regional titles. They play Cobleskill-Richmondville (13-3) for the Section II crown on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. at Ravena High School, with the winner moving on to the regionals on Feb. 29 at Westmoreland High School.
Connors will spend the next week preparing for the matchup with Cobleskill-Richmondville.
“I’ll bring in a referee to practice and make it a game experience,” Connor said. “This is my fifth attempt at a state regional, so I kind of know what it takes to get there. I have to get in their heads they just have to listen to what I’m saying, and they are. I have 5 or 6 guys that have been with me four years, so they know what I need, and they’ve been answering the bell.”
Beating the Syracuse area teams from Section III has been a challenge in past years for the Section II champs, but Connors feels the tide is beginning to turn.
Twelve or 15 years ago we could never beat the Syracuse area teams, we just couldn’t beathem. And all of a sudden, the last couple of years, in my opinion, we’re the better league because most of our schools have modified teams now. So we’re getting those younger kids in the gym and I think it’s paying dividends for the varsity guys.
“That’s my opinion because out in Syracuse all they have is JV and varsity and if you don’t get that seventh, eighth and ninth grader, you won’t every get them, most of the time. We’re starting to get the younger kids and it’s starting to trickle through. We have freshman and sophomore that didn’t play tonight, but they’re learning and I bring them along because I want them to see and experience this. I’m a big believer in learning while you watch.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
NON-LEAGUE
Germantown 65, Rhinebeck 52
GERMANTOWN — Bryan Bathrick dropped 30 points to lead Germantown to a 65-52 non-league boys basketball victory over Rhienbeck on Tuesday.
The Clippers trailed 19-14 after one quarter, but used an 18-6 second quarter run to take a 32-25 lead by halftime, then widened the gap to 44-33 by the end of the third stanza.
Jace Anderson contributed 15 points to the Clippers’ cause.
Aiden Aierstok led Rhienbeck with 20 points. Ben Fajardo chipped in with 14.
RHINEBECK (52): Hines 3-0-8, B. Aierstok 3-2-8, A. Aierstok 6-5-20, Fajardo 5-3-14, Zuger 1-0-2. Totals 18-10-52.
3-pointers: A. Aierstok 3, Hines 2, Gajardo.
GERMANTOWN (65): Eaton 2-1-6, Mayr 1-2-4, Bathrick 11-5-30, Anderson 6-3-15, Rifenburgh 1-4-6, McKinney 1-2-4. Totals 22-17-65.
3-pointers: Bathrick 3, Eaton.
