After flying high against Central Valley Academy on Saturday, Canastota came back down to earth. Canastota fell just short of the Rome Free Academy Black Knights by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday. Canastota was not able to make up for their defeat to Rome Free Academy from their previous meeting back in February of 2025.
While Canastota ultimately came up short, they really made Rome Free Academy work, particularly in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 27-25, 19-25, 20-25, 15-11.
Daniel Sadowski paced Canastota's offense, picking up 11 kills. Sadowski got some help from Connor DiBenedetto and his 19 assists. DiBenedetto was also solid from the service line: he led the team with three aces.
Rome Free Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jerry Flores-Pacheco, who had 17 kills, ten digs, ten aces, and one block. Flores-Pacheco has been hot recently, having posted six or more kills the last three times he's played. Miguel Vargas was another key player, getting 22 digs, 16 kills, and one block.
Canastota dropped their record down to 1-5 with the loss, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Rome Free Academy, with the victory, they broke their three-match losing streak and moved their record to 3-6.
Canastota wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 3-0 defeat against Proctor on the 29th. As for Rome Free Academy, they have also already played their next match, a 3-1 win against Oneida on the 28th.
