All through last week’s action, the Marcellus girls volleyball team got reminded of the hill still in front of them as it lost to both of the OHSL Liberty division’s top sides. First, the Mustangs hosted unbeaten, first-place Skaneateles and appeared to have the rival Lakers in trouble — only to surrender that advantage and fall in four games. When Marcellus took the opening game 26-24, fending off game points to do so, it appeared, at least for a moment, that the home team had reclaimed some equality, and even a 25-21 defeat in the second game didn’t discourage all that much. But the third game proved crucial. Both sides had chances to close out the game until, at 25-25, Skaneateles inched in front, then prevailed 27-25. Stricken, the Mustangs lost the fourth game 25-19 and the match ended. Nicole Fletcher hurt the Lakers with 11 kills and nine blocks. Becca Eddy contributed 10 kills and eight assists as Devan Landers got five kills and four blocks. Samantha Vulcano had 26 assists. For Skaneateles, Ryan Merle led the way with seven kills, seven blocks and four aces. Then came the Mustangs’ Friday trip to Buckley Gym to face Cazenovia, and that other group of Lakers — and much the same thing happened in another four-game loss. Again, Marcellus took the opener, this time 25-22. Again, the Mustangs would not win another game as Cazenovia dominated the second game 25-10, then took the next two games by scores of 25-19 and 25-20. Vulcano had 19 assists, adding five kills,t he same number as Eddy, with Fletcher getting six kills and Kim Duck adding four kills and three aces. Chelsea Lauria led Cazenovia with 20 assists, five kills and five aces as teammate Sarah Race added 10 kills and Megan Robinson finished with 14 assists. Before all this, the Mustangs first visited Fulton, splitting the first two games before taking over in the late stages to beat the Red Raiders 25-22, 16-25, 25-20, 25-21. On a balanced front line, Duck earned eight kills, with Fletcher gaining seven kills. Landers put together six kills and five blocks. Vulcano had 21 assists, plus three kills and two aces as Francesca Tangredi earned four aces. Westhill earned, by far, its biggest win of the season on Tuesday night, defending its home court with a four-game conquest of Solvay. The Warriors won the opening game 25-20 and lost the second game 25-17. The turning point came in the third game, where Westhill edged the Bearcats 27-25 and, boosted by that win, rolled to a 25-15 win in the fourth game to close it out. Mackenzie O’Brien had 11 kills for the Warriors, while Courtney Morgan and Clarissa Sterly each got seven kills and Meaghan Rathbun earned five kills. Elvera Sgroi finished with 18 assists, plus three kills and two aces. In defeat, Solvay saw Calla Bakowski pick up 20 assists and Bre Lioto benefit by earning 12 kills. And the Warriors didn’t stop there, either, overcoming a first-game defeat in Thursday’s match against Phoenix to beat the Firebirds 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 27-25. Sgroi picked up 17 assists, going to a balanced front line where Rathburn and Morgan both earned seven kills. Sterly and Michaela Medici got four kills apiece as O’Brien and Nicole Toth each contributed four aces. Jordan-Elbridge hosted Hannibal last Monday and reached the .500 mark (6-6), beating the Warriors in four games. The Eagles won the opener 25-20 and lost the second game 25-21, but dominated the rest of the match and claimed the next two games 25-15 and 25-7. Lindsy Geery, with 14 assists, set up points as Mallory Snyder (seven assists) and Sam Lewis (five assists) helped out on the back line. Up front, Lisa Kimak earned six kills and three blocks, while Kristi Hyde earned four kills and Jessica Somes picked up three kills. J-E then hosted Cazenovia on Tuesday and won the first game from the defending Class B champion Lakers 25-17, only to see them rally and claim the next three games 25-18, 25-21 and 25-10. Geery had seven assists and two aces, while Katie Bard had three aces. Kimak, Megan Peters and Ericka Drummond each had two kills. Two nights later, the Eagles won a rematch with Hannibal, overcoming a 27-25 defeat in the first game to win the next three games 25-14, 25-9 and 25-23. Geery had 14 assists and five aces, with Kimak and Somes each earning seven kills. Jenna Shorkey stepped up for six kills as Bard got five kills and Drummond four kills. When J-E played Port Byron on Saturday, it was the Eagles’ fourth match in six days — but it didn’t stop them from sweeping the Panthers 25-14, 25-17, 25-10 and moving above the .500 mark (8-7) in the process. Kimak had five kills and Harley Kuhn earned four aces, with Sommes and Liz Jorolemon each earning three kills and Geery adding 10 assists, plus three aces.