Pine Bush – You read right: that's eight straight Section IX titles now for the Pine Bush Volleyball program. The final, played in the marvelous new SUNY athletic complex this Saturday, ran out 3-0, or 25-22, 25-18, 25-22, over the Lady Warriors of Warwick.

So, once again the Lady Bushmen didn't drop a set or work up a sweat? Not quite. Yes, they've only dropped two sets against local opposition this season so far, but Warwick pressed hard, and even had the lead for a long time in the third game.

After the game, Coach Lori Kachelmeyer said, "It was a good game. I knew they were going to show up, and they always give us a good fight. They're a great opponent, and we respect them."

In the first game, Pine Bush moved out to 6-3, but Warwick pushed back and kept the score level for a while. Then when the score got to 14-10 in Pine Bush's favor, Warwick took a time out. This Warwick team is well coached and good at keeping the ball off the floor. They were working hard at blocking the outside to negate Nicolette Gebhardt and Megan Lesczynski, and they were having some success with that tactic.

"They were blocking the outside a lot," said Coach Kachelmeyer. "So to relieve that pressure we started setting the middle a lot and Kristen Loney came through for us."

Loney would have 14 kills in the match.

Warwick was soon struggling to stay close, and the Lady Bushmen pulled away to 22-19 and took the game 25-22.

The second game also saw the Lady Warriors keep it close for a while, but Loney and Gebhardt started scoring freely and Pine Bush pulled away and went into a strong finish, aided by some poor serves from Warwick to take the game 25-18.

Facing defeat, Warwick dug in their heels. The third game was level at first, but then Warwick kicked it up a gear, took it to 7-4 in their favor, and Coach Kachelmeyer called a time out. Still, Warwick stayed on top, and at 15-9 Pine Bush took another time out. The Lady Bushmen were hurting themselves with errors and a few poor serves. Whatever Coach Kachelmeyer said to her team, it worked. Megan Lesczynski, who had already had a strong game, stepped up, Megan Maisonet produced some terrific play, Warwick's lead shrank, and then vanished as Pine Bush swept past them to take the game 25-22, and with it the championship.

Key stats: Megan Lesczynski 14 kills, 14 digs. Kristen Loney 14 kills, 3 blocks, 7 digs, 2 aces. Megan Maisonet, 39 assists, 13 digs, 4 aces, 1 kill.

After the match, Coach Kachelmeyer praised her team and ahead to next weekend. "Megan Lescznski had a good game, she was there when we needed her," she said. "Kristen Loney had a big game too. So did Megan Maisonet. It's great to win this title, but we know that next weekend is another test. We don't know yet who we'll be facing, but it will be next Sunday, November 9 at 11 in the morning."

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