Scott helps Wellsville volleyball end 2023 strong with win over Portville; C-R

By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com

PORTVILLE — Although the Lions of Wellsville fell behind rather quickly against host Portville on Friday, they made up for lost time even quicker as time passed.

With the help of Xavier Scott on the relentless attack, Wellsville turned the ship back around in the right direction and mounted a humongous comeback in the last three sets to complete a four-set triumph, scoring the 14-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-20 win to enter the holiday freeze on a positive note.

Scott led all attackers on the frontlines for the Lions (5-2) with his 10 team-high kills, pairing them with six blocks and three aces. Terrence Benz added more fuel to the fire with five kills of his own to go with two aces, while Brody Heaney chipped in with five aces from the service line, four more kills and two blocks.

Wellsville will look to pick up where they now leave off when they return to action on January 2, hosting the Eagles of Fillmore in a 6 p.m. first serve.

Franklinville girls down Cuba-Rushford in basketball

FRANKLINVILLE — On the final day of action before the Christmas break begins to settle in over the weekend, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were the last team in the County to hop back onto the hardwood to settle the score, Friday night.

Despite a strong start from host Franklinville to commence the game, they hung around going into the break, looking to regain their footing. But for the Lady Panthers, they had other plans as the fast start was the tip of the iceberg, as they posted a massive third quarter run against Cuba-Rushford to pull away and out of reach to claim a 50-23 home victory.

Almost immediately, the Lady Panthers made some noise with the assistance of McKenzie Chase, who scored 12 of the team’s 14 points right in the first quarter to deliver a 14-5 lead of Cuba-Rushford (2-6).

The margin would remain nine points crossing into the end of the first half, but would gradually increase over time behind Franklinville’s all-out offensive balance in the third, as they scampered off on a 21-3 run of the Lady Rebels with four different scorers propelling the team’s cause.

The Lady Rebels were paced by Lily Tompkins and her six points. Brynn Lavery chipped in with five points, while Aubrey Williams and Cloey Larabee sank a three-pointer each.

Cuba-Rushford is now off until January 3 when they return home to the Wighthouse to host Bolivar-Richburg in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Cuba-Rushford 5 7 3 8 – 23

Franklinville 14 7 21 8 – 50

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 1 0-1 3, Cloey Larabee 1 0-0 3, Lily Tompkins 3 0-0 6, Brynn Lavery 2 0-0 5, Lilly Farwell 2 0-0 4, Raegan Poore 0 2-2 2. Totals: 9 2-2 23.

FRANKLINVILLE: Taylor Chase 5 0-2 10, Sofia Bentley 2 6-8 10, Alayna Spittler 0 1-2 1, Grace Cornell 3 0-0 7, Olivia Frank 2 2-2 6, McKenzie Chase 8 0-0 16. Totals: 20 9-14 50.

3-point…