BY MICHAEL KELLY
Gazette Sportswriter
GLENS FALLS — Throughout the rejuvenation of the Shenendehowa girls’ volleyball program these past several years, the Plainsmen have not skipped a single step in their development.
Early-round Section II playoff exits came before the team reached an area final in 2009; a loss that year beget a win in the next for the program’s first sectional title since 1990; and, the team lost in the regional round in each of 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 before making it to the state tournament last year and posting a 1-5 showing.
So, that head coach Lori Kessler’s team finished 3-3 at pool play in this year’s Class AA state tournament and missed out on advancing to the title game is not surprising — and it certainly does not represent a failure. Instead, it’s just the next logical step for a program on the rise.
And, next year, the plan is to finish the climb.
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“Every year, we’re learning more,” Shenendehowa sophomore Charlotte Macken said. “This year, winning a few games, this makes winning the whole thing next year so much more of a necessity.”
“The only thing we can do is use this as a teaching moment,” Kessler said.
In state tournament pool play, Shenendehowa — which only had one senior on its roster — swept Clarence (25-19, 25-18), split with Connetquot (23-25, 25-20), and lost twice to Pine Bush (24-26, 22-25). Despite handing Connetquot its only defeat of the day, Shenendehowa did not advance to the final after finishing tied with Pine Bush and losing via a head-to-head tiebreaker.
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