CORNING – The journey for a third straight sectional crown came to an end Saturday afternoon for the Bobcats as top-seeded Candor defeated Bainbridge-Guilford 3-2 in an intense and exciting five-game match for the Class D Championship.

B-G battled back in both game one and game four to win their two games, ultimately forcing a deciding game five but the No. 1 Indians of Candor took the driver’s seat to start the final set and never looked back.

“Going into Saturday, I just wanted us to play a a good game,” said Bobcats’ head coach Tami Selfridge. “We were so close. we could have won that third game. It is a little rough but glad we played as good as we did. I’m already excited about what next year might bring.”

Saturday’s final Section IV Championship match of the day, Bainbridge-Guilford and Candor were the only two teams who have won back-to-back New York State Championships within the section. The Bobcats were champions in 2017 and 2018 while the Indians took home two titles in 2002 and 2003.

To start the day, Candor led a close game one at 10-8 but rallying to take back the advantage were the Bobcats as they jumped ahead 17-14. The Indians called a timeout to regroup but it did not work as Bainbridge-Guilford captured the first set 25-20.