Eden Girls Volleyball Perseveres, Knocks off Hamburg in Four

It took a bit for the Lady Raiders to gain their footing but after dropping the first set against the Bulldogs 22-25 they went on to win the next three sets 27-25, 25-18 and 25-18.

Eden dug themselves a hole early on with a few serving mishaps and untimely hitting errors.

Hamburg seized the opportunity and carried their early momentum into the second set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead.. but it was Eden who would ultimately come out on top. Scrappy play from the Lady Raiders allowed them to chip away at the Bulldog lead and tie the game at 24; they took the second set 27-25.

Eden continued to clean up their serving and offensive mishaps that had plagued them in the first two sets, took advantage of a few key matchups on the net and held onto their new momentum to finish off the match.

For Eden, this match was one of many that the team has added to their schedule this year to better prepare for Sectionals.

The Lady Raiders had sat atop the ECIC IV league and dominated Class C at States for nearly a decade but recently saw that streak come to an end at the hands of a rising Portville team, who has since gone on to win the last two State Championships.

If Eden is going to make a return to States they’ll need to get through Portville in the Class C crossover game.

To better prepare for their eventual post-season run Eden made the decision to go independent this year.. opting instead to schedule matchups with Class AA Lancaster, Orchard Park, Williamsville North and Clarence; the team will also square off twice with Monsignor Martin’s St. Mary’s of Lancaster and Rochester’s Sutherland HS.

“We have a really solid group of girls this year and they are working hard towards their goal. We went independent this year so that we could grow as a team and challenge ourselves to get better,” explained Eden Head Coach Hailee Herc. “Giving up a division title was a hard decision and the first time in over 20 years that we won’t have that banner to put up in our gym. But our goal this year is to make it back to the state championships and the sacrifice I think will pay off in the end.

Every game we play the girls are focusing on making our team better as a whole and focusing on what we need to work on. It isn’t about wins and losses, as we are playing hard competition, it’s about getting better and learning from each match. We have done that so far and have improved on something regardless of the score or the outcome. If we keep focusing on our end goal, the rest will come along, and the wins will be there as well.

I’m really proud to see the progress the girls have made so far and excited to see what this team is capable of in the future!”

Hamburg Head Coach John Crangle also saw last night’s match with Eden as an opportunity to prepare his team for their league schedule.

“Eden is a solid, talented team. Playing them now will definitely help us prepare for the rest of our season,” said Crangle following the match.

Hamburg, who is currently undefeated in ECIC II divisional play, will make the trip to Williamsville East tomorrow night.

Eden is off until Monday when they host Alden (2-0) at 7pm.