Half Hollow Hills West girls volleyball cruises through pool play to reach state Class AA final
Mary Walcott and Suki Dong make the block from Anhjela Jackson of Minisink Valley in Class AA pool play at the state championships in Glens Falls on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. Credit: Stephen Weaver/Stephen Weaver
GLENS FALLS — Half Hollow Hills West marched into pool play at the girls volleyball state championships and quickly ensured it would be one of the two teams left standing.
The Colts swept their first two matches of Class AA pool play at the state championships at Cool Insuring Arena on Friday to reach Saturday’s championship match.
The Colts started slowly in their first match against Minisink Valley (Section IX), trailing 15-11. They scored seven of the next eight points after back-to-back kills from Alexis Pelis, to take an 18-16 lead. Minisink Valley got within 24-23, but the Colts took the set 25-23 after an Ella Corso kill.
“We try to come out fast and maybe we were a little bit too amped and made some errors we usually don’t,” coach Nils Haugen said. “They stuck to the plan, eliminated the errors and started to separate.”
Hills West used a 7-1 run in the second set to take a 15-7 lead after a Mary Wolcott block. The Colts would take the set 25-17. Pelis had 11 kills and three aces in the match and Wolcott had 15 assists and nine kills.
“We focus on one point at a time, so things don’t get too overwhelming,” Wolcott said. “ We trust each other and know we’re all on the same page.”
The Colts took the first set of their match against Brighton (Section V), 25-20. They led 23-20 in the second set, but Brighton scored four straight to take the lead. The Colts scored the next three, with Veronica Pelis getting the assist on Wolcott’s kill, to win the set 26-24.
“Our motto is to play for each other,” Wolcott said. “That’s what we wanted to do and we wanted to make sure we moved on right then and there.”
Half Hollow Hills West will face Fayetteville Manlius (Section III) in the NYSPHSAAA Class AA championship at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“They were a confident bunch at the moment, certainly not nervous,” Haugen said. “They’ve done a great job all season of finding a way to get on the offensive and putting the ball on the floor.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
