Norwich recognized the six volleyball seniors prior to the start of an exciting five-set match win over Oneonta Tuesday night. Francesca Salerno, Sophie Dabbraccio, Mia Maiurano, Lexi Whaley, Chloe Winton and Sam Binelli were joined by their parents as the six were honored by head coach Shelly Alger. (Evening Sun Photo, Meagan Schulz)

NORWICH – Earlier this season, Norwich and Oneonta went the distance in the best-of-five with the Lady Tornado coming out on top after needing to the win the final two games in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference divisional match. In front of a packed gym, Norwich did the exact same Tuesday to defeat the Yellowjackets 3-2 on senior night.

With six seniors on the 2019 roster, head coach Shelly Alger, assistant coaches, the Norwich Volleyball booster club and the rest of the team honored all for their years full of dedication to the program. Lexi Whaley, Sam Binelli, Chloe Winton, Francesca Salerno, Mia Maiurano, and Sophia Dabbraccio then started on the floor for the first game of the five-set match

After a slow start to the opening set, the Lady Tornado attempted to come back but fell in the first 25-18 to the Yellowjackets.

Switching to the other side of the court, Norwich came out firing and put the opponent in a hole to climb out of. As it looked like the Purple Tornado were going to cruise to the set win, Oneonta mounted a slight comeback to pull within three points of the home team. Back-to-back points closed the second set to give the match a 1-1 score and forcing at least a fourth game.

With the same score of the first game, Oneonta took a 2-1 lead for the match and needed to win the next set to close out the road victory.