For the last time, Kyle Salisbury is shuffling through stacks of papers and end-of-year review activities ahead of final exams. Retirement is looming for the longtime math instructor at Midlakes High School. And, he says another year or two remain in the hopper before he steps away from coaching volleyball. A collection of volleyball memories, frozen in time, dot the shelves behind his desk.

Similarly, Aiden Bryan is beginning to eye the end of his academic time at Midlakes High, bound for Princeton where he will study Aerospace Engineering after he and the Class of 2026 cross the stage during Commencement ceremonies later this month.

And while Bryant and Salisbury are on two very divergent paths - one fraught with final worries about preparing students and the other fraught with the stress of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association outdoor track and field State Qualifiers - their mutual ends are anchored by a shared, indelible memory: reaching the NYSPHAA State Championship  Volleyball Tournament.

THE HISTORY
This season, for the first time in the storied Midlakes Volleyball program history, a win in the Section V Class B Unification match launched the Screaming Eagles into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's Division II State Championship Tournament.

It has been months, but the buzz remains. Talking about it this spring, Salisbury tears up. Bryant flashes a huge smile, and he shared during his signing day activities with Midlakes Athletics that being with his teammates and the historic run are his favorite high school memory.

“This is such a special group, these guys have been my buds since I was a child,” Bryant said about his team. “It is so great to make it this far with them, especially with track & field being an individual sport. Just being able to make it to states with a team is an awesome feeling.”

That is coming from a generational talent; a 12-time NYSPHAA State and Federation Champion between indoor and outdoor long and triple jump competitions. He was joined on the team by fellow seniors Jake Deckert, Torrin Lane, Braxton Wilkes and Declan Reed. Salisbury reiterated, it was the team that helped make the magical run so special.

The measure is not so much the result, but the journey. Getting to the State Championship for the first time was a milestone moment for the team and for longtime coach Kyle Salisbury; and the unlikely path there will certainly become the stuff of legend in Midlakes' athletic lore.

"You remember the feeling. You cannot take that away. They will get to hold inside of them for the rest of their lives," said Salisbury, emotions brimming again.

"Honestly, it was the most emotionally invested game I have been," remarked senior Aiden Bryant, who collected the Section V Class B2 Tournament MVP award when Midlakes took their third-straight Section V Class B2 Championship over No. 1 ranked School of the Arts in straight sets. "I get goose bumps talking about it. Even [jumping] on a national stage, there is nothing that will compare to that game for me."

THE SIGNIFICANCE
The team punched their ticket while showing unquestionable grit.

Facing the six-time defending Section V Class B1 Champion Spencerport Rangers, Midlakes dropped the first two sets in the best-of-five series. Facing the season's end, Midlakes won the third set, and then the fourth. In a decisive fifth set where the winner had to be the first to 15 instead of 25, Jesse Bennett - a standout long and triple jumper in his own right - threw down a spike to give Midlakes a dramatic 15-13 win.

What happened in the week that followed almost did not matter.

Midlakes finished third in pool play, going 3 - 3. A tough draw pitted them against the eventual State Champions Jamesville-Dewitt (Section III, and State finalist Eastport-South Manor (XI). The ceiling is high for the Screaming Eagles, with a bright future. The NYSPHAA State Championships will again be in the Finger Lakes Region next November.

Bryant finished with an All-Greater Rochester Team nod and was named to his fifth PrimeTime585 Most Outstanding Athlete Award; his other four came on the heels of his long and triple jump skills in both indoor and outdoor track. Bryant was the Section V Class B2 All-Tournament MVP and was the team-leader in kills (378), aces (74), and blocks (23). He finished his career with 1,252 kills.

Braxton Wilkes and Jesse Bennett each made the Section V Class B2 All-Tournament Team. Salisbury won both Section V Class B2 and All-Greater Rochester Coach of the Year.

Among the seniors, Wilkes finished with the most assists on the team and finished with 1,350 assists in his Midlakes career. He made the First Team All-League and earned the NYS Sportsmanship Award. Deckert made First Team All-League. Reed had the best hitting percentage on the team and finished with a First Team All-League nomination. Torrin Lane earned Finger Lakes All-League Honorable Mention.

HISTORY BEGINS TO REPEAT
Midlakes had never reached the NYSPHAA State Championship tournament, losing in each of their cross over match appearances. That is a total of 13 Section V Championships efforts with Salisbury at the helm (2025, 24, 23; 2019, ‘16, ‘15, ‘11, ‘10, ‘07, ‘06 and ‘00). In 2022, Midlakes fell to Spencerport in the Section finals; in the 2023 finals, they lost to Brockport.

Facing Spencerport once again this past fall, Midlakes seemed destined for more cross over disappointment. After the first two sets in the race to three, Spencerport was leading 2-0.

"[Coach Josh] Delgado told me that if we came back from down 2-0, it would be history. Going into the final set, that this would be legendary," Bryant said.

To further complicate things, at the close of the first set, Bryant's nose began to bleed. With Midlakes' most dynamic player working with the trainer, officials deferred the start of the second set for a short period, but the game had to play on. Liam Bryant (Class of '28) played in relief of his older brother.

"We led the first game the whole way, then lost 25-23. We lost in the last three plays," said Salisbury.

The elder Bryant was aware the second set could be pivotal. But his nose was relentless.

Spencerport went ahead by two, then three points. Bryant was still unable to control the bleeding. Another point, and a side out. Bryant watched the board intently, pinching the bridge of his nose. Spencerport took serve back with six points on the board in the race to 25. Then seven. The urgency to return was further fueling the one thing blocking his return to the court. Two more points.

Necessity begets innovation. Cramming cotton in his nostrils, the trainer wrapped his nose and head in gauze, then athletic tape. Bryant checked back into the game with Spencerport leading convincingly, 12-5.

"I was like, 'this is not how I want to end my last year of volleyball, my senior year.  My thought was getting back in as soon as possible, no matter how weird or bad it looks," he said. "I don't want to end the year off the court.

"Aiden came back, you know. He said I can breathe and I can play," Salisbury recalled.

Jake Deckert delivered an ace, leaving the deficit at 13-6. Jesse Bennett stood behind points, trimming the lead to 15-11. Another set of big kills kept Midlakes close, 18-12. Spencerport served long, and the frontcourt delivered a huge kill to help Braxton Wilkes keep serve, 21-15. Another Spencerport serve was launched into the net, 22-17. Bryant was next to serve, but the serve went long, 23-17. In a moment of foreshadowing, Jesse Bennett halted the Spencerport momentum with a kill, giving Midlakes serve again down 23-17 and their collective backs against the proverbial wall. Spencerport earned another side out, called a time out while holding serve 24-18 and then a final kill gave the Rangers a two-set lead needing only three sets to clinch the win.

"Going into the third game, they are up 2-0. They are playing to not lose the third when they should be playing to win the third," Salisbury said, noting the next set proved to be the opening Midlakes needed.

THE RALLY
After set no. 2, the teams switched sides. Spencerport was jubilant, dancing to the music playing over the loudspeakers. Each of the last two seasons, the six-time Sectional Champion Rangers ended the Midlakes season. In 2023-24, it was a 3-0 sweep. Last year, it was a 3-1 decision. Within the Spencerport camp, there was little reason to doubt a similar outcome.

But in the words of Steven Stills, "There's something happening here."

Midlakes wasn't quiet. Their top athlete was back to start; there was no early forfeiting of points, no clinging. The Screaming Eagles had clawed within a few points of an upset in that second set; success was palatable. Facing the ultimate win-or-go-home stakes, Midlakes set sail for the unlikely if not impossible.

"The kids weren't down. They were competitive and felt ok," said Salisbury. "They were playing good volleyball, and it kept us positive. They kept perspective; they needed to win this game and were not worry about winning three. One at a time."

"We just kept going into the huddle, one more game, one more point, one more pass, hit, set. Going point by point, hit by hit," Bryant said.

Midlakes took an early lead and authored a win by sustaining. Spencerport never went away, but the cushion was 'enough.  Shrugging off a late rally, Braxton Wilkes set up classmate Jacob Deckert for the game-winning point to win the set 25-23.

This time, during the side swap, there was no dancing. There was no overt merriment. There was confident resolve on the faces huddled around the Spencerport bench. But, for the first time in three years, the armor was showing cracks.

Midlakes came out firing in the fourth set. Again, the Screaming Eagles constructed a lead. This time the margin was more significant, amassing as much as a seven-point edge. As the teams traded side outs, Spencerport closed, 23-19. Midlakes held on, winning the fourth set 25-20 to send it to a winner-take-all, fifth set.

"That momentum, to go to the fourth game and now we are rolling," Salisbury said. "Now it’s 2-2, tied. It is one game. Everything you did for the first four games does not matter. One game to 15. Our goal was to be the first to 8 - and we were - then get to 12 and hold them off."

And Midlakes did. But maybe not with the expected cast.

Remember set two, when Bennett came through big? In the frantic flurry of 15-point volleyball, Bennett delivered a clutch kill to give Midlakes an 8-5 lead. At that halfway point to 15, the teams customarily traded sides again. Back and forth, Midlakes held a lead before Spencerport rally brought the game to a tie, 12-12. Then, Spencerport served long.

Leading 13-12 - as poetic as can be - the head-wrapped No. 10 who seems to defy gravity stepped up to serve. Spencerport returned the ball long. 14-12. Spencerport dialed their range back in, and a monster spike gave Spencerport the serve, and a one-point deficit, 14-13.

Volleyball games must be won by two points.

Sophomore Libero Kaden Guillaume made contact on the next volley. Wilkes set it up, and Bennett drove it home. 15-13. Game, set, match.

"Jesse - every time there is pressure situations, he wins," complimented Bryant, recalling a game against Living Word where Bennett had the winning, walk-off kill in another five-set match. "I knew what was going to happen. I did not even call for the ball. I knew it was going to him, and I knew he was going to kill it."

"It's still unbelievable to this day. As a small school, we defeated a humongous school and got to play against the best teams in the state - and that is us as a small school," recalled Bennett, noting he has only 96 students in the graduating Class of 2027.

"Our goal every year is to play the best volleyball and be the best small school," Salisbury said, explaining the Midlakes enrollment is a third of most of the schools Midlakes plays. "It represents the quality of our program against other small programs.