Vestal came off a strong showing in the Section IV playoffs, looking to make more noise in its NYS quarterfinal matchup with Cornwall. 

The Golden Bears started strong with a 25-18 win in the first set.

However, Cornwall responded with wins of 25-19 and 25-20 in the next two sets, putting pressure on the Golden Bears. 

But Vestal faded in the fourth set and the Dragons capitalized, winning with a 25-9 score and taking the match 3-1. 

"I'm very proud of the girls today. We were a little short height-wise matching up with them. We tried to keep them out of system and tried to press our offense," Vestal head coach Joe Nemecek said. "We accomplished it the first game. After that, we were fighting the whole match."

Nemecek also credited his team for its strong close to finish the season. 

"We started off a little rough this year," he said. "We were 4-4 at one point. We really turned things around and it came from always fighting and never giving up." 

Cornwall moves on to the NYS Class AA state semifinals. Section IV champion Vestal finishes its season 10-6. 

—————————————————

PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON