The Mount Markham Mustangs, the #1 seed and power house of Section III Class C/D went into Tuesdays Semifinals match with Westmoreland with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. The Bulldogs not only ended the Mustangs attempt at a perfect season with three games left in the 2010 regular season, but they also knocked Mount Markham out of sectionals last year with a 3-2 victory in the finals after Mount Markham jumped out to a 2-1 lead.
Needless to say, the Bulldogs weren’t welcomed into West Winfield on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the sectional finals.
When it was all over and done with at Mount Markham Middle School, the Mustangs came out victorious, beating the Bulldogs 3-1, and sending them home, reversing fate in just on calendar year.
“This game just meant more to us today,” Mount Markham Head Coach Darin Lynch said. “We beared down as a team and had an answer for everyone of Westmoreland’s runs.”
Helping the Mustangs (17-1) to their win was a group of players. It included: Alex Wrobel, Brian Gurtowski, Zach King, Zach O’Sullivan, Danny Roberts, Dylan Roberts and Steve DiNigro.
All have made their impact on the season, but made their biggest contributions on Tuesday at home.
Wrobel, Gurtowski, King, O’Sullivan and Danny Roberts made their living at the net against Westmoreland. Combined, the five players had 53 kills, 55 digs, 11 blocks, six aces and four assists.
Wrobel finished with 15 kills, one dig, and five blocks. Gurtowski finished with 16 kills, two assists, two aces, 22 digs and one block. King finished with five kills, two assists, three aces and 19 digs. O’Sullivan finished with five kills, three digs and two blocks. And Danny Roberts finished with 12 kills and 10 digs.
As for Dylan Roberts and DiNigro, they made their living everywhere else for the Mustangs. Combined, Roberts and DiNigro had one kill, 46 assists, one ace, 20 digs and three blocks.
Obtaining most of those stats was Dylan, with one kill, 46 assists, one ace, eight digs and three blocks, but DiNigro did contribute to the win, accumulating 12 digs.
With so many players playing well in the win, it gave Westmoreland too many things to stop if they wanted to win the match. The Bulldogs did put up a good fight, only losing three of the games by six points or less, but after Mount Markham got up by two games, Westmoreland had dug themselves into too deep of a hole.
