Early on, Chatham used hot serving to jump out to the lead. Adam Scaglione was hitting well at the net, and things were going well for the Panthers. On the other side of the net, senior Francis Comesanes was all over the court, covering and digging up Panthers spikes. Halfway through the first match, Simon Day reeled off 6 straight service points to help give the Panthers a comfortable lead. A string of 3 straight points by Josh Kohrs late helped Chatham to win the first game.
Again the inexperienced Clippers found themselves in an early hole in the second game as Wade Klinger started things off with 5 service points for Chatham. Kevin Meyers and Connor Cockroft also got hot deep from the service line, and the Panthers jumped out to a 13-2 lead. The Clippers didn’t go down easy, however, fighting back behind Cody Rockefeller’s serving and net play and the services of David White. Late in the match, it was again Day who came through for Chatham, first picking up a big side-out kill to stop a Rockefeller service run and then ripping 2 big service points late.
The third and final match was the best back and forth action of the evening. The Clippers looked sharp, and the Panthers looked somewhat sloppy. After falling behind early, Chatham fought back behind injured star Connor Cockroft’s serving. Cockroft, who was playing with an injured ankle, only subbed in on the back row, but that was enough, especially in that third game. Cockroft served up 6 straight points to change the momentum of the final game. With the match still close at 24-20, Chatham’s Max Streeter put down a big kill to close things out.
Leading the way for Chatham was Meyers with 8 service points, 3 kills, and 2 blocks. Day finished with 10 service points, while Cockroft added 8. Streeter added 8 kills, Scaglione had 7 kills and 2 blocks, while Kohrs finished with 9 service points and 10 assists.
Chatham returns to action Thursday when they host Cobleskill-Richmondville and follow that up by hosting Hudson on Saturday for Panther Pride Day. Germantown gets right back into things with a Wednesday trip to Berlin but then take an entire week off before traveling to Berkshire.
