Opening weekend of the volleyball season saw solid performances from local schools.
Mount Vernon 3, Grove City 1
Mount Vernon (1-0, 0-0) started off its season against Grove City (0-1, 0-0) with a 3-1 victory on Saturday, led by senior setter Tori Burdette, who led the team with 26 assists in the opening match on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets took a 25-21 win in both the first and second sets, but the Greyhounds were able to grab the third set with a 25-16 win. Mount Vernon finished off Grove City in the fourth set 25-23.
Burdette had 26 assists, 11 digs, two kills and two aces to lead the charge. Kaitlyn Thompson recorded a team-high 10 kills to go with four digs and an ace. Emma Dean had eight kills, four aces and two solo blocks. Audrey Stuller and Jurnie Gleason played well on defense with 15 digs and 13 digs respectively.
Centerburg 3, Bishop Ready 0
Centerburg’s (1-0, 0-0) Stella Weisbrod had a solid first match of the season both offensively and defensively, leading the Trojans to a 3-0 win over Bishop Ready (0-1, 0-0) on Saturday.
Centerburg won by scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-19 to secure the sweep. Weisbrod had 12 kills to lead the way, and the senior also led the team with 11 digs. Junior Chesnee Fairall had seven kills and four digs. Senior Kennedi Glenn had a team-high 18 assists and also recorded six kills, nine digs and four aces. Clara Johnson also set the ball well with 12 assists to go with seven digs and three aces.
Highland 3, Big Walnut 2
Highland’s (1-0, 0-0) Kameron Stover set the tone with a big offensive night recording 33 kills in a tight 3-2 win over Big Walnut (0-1, 0-0) to start the volleyball season on Saturday.
The first set was close throughout, with the Fighting Scots taking a 25-23 win thanks to six aces recorded by five different Lady Scots. Stover had six kills of the team’s 13 kills in the set, with five Highland players recording a kill.
The second set was all Lady Scots to start, as the team had a 23-14 lead and was poised to take a 2-0 lead. The Eagles managed to claw back and take a 27-25 win. Set three proved to be a close one, as well, with eight ties in the match. Stover led the way with nine kills and Highland took a 25-22 win.
Big Walnut controlled the fourth set and despite a late comeback by Highland, the Eagles held on for a 25-19 win to take the match into a final set. Tied at 2-2 in the fifth set, the Lady Scots put the pedal to the metal and took a 15-6 win to secure the win.
Stover was the offensive star and was set up throughout the night by Larsen Terrill, who had 48 assists to go with six kills. Stover and Jossalyn Varney also each had five aces.
Loudonville 3, Tri-Valley 2
The Loudonville volleyball team kicked off the season against Tri-Valley of Division I, and setter Payton VanSickle and the Redbirds focused and dlivered, edging out the Scotties 3-2 on Saturday.
Loudonville started the match with a 25-20 win, but dropped a set 25-14 to make it a 1-1 match. The Redbirds squeaked out a 25-23 win in the third set, but the Scotties won a close one of their own in the fourth, 25-22. The match went to the fifth set and it was anyone’s to win, but Loudonville managed to hold on and take a tight 15-13 win.
VanSickle had 30 assists, 16 service points, three aces, seven digs and a block. Maddy Denslow led the team in kills with 12, and also had 11 service points and three aces. Olyvia Fenton recorded a team high 17 digs and had 32 serve receptions. Chloe Gansen had six kills and five blocks in the win.
Fredericktown 3, Utica 0
Fredericktown (1-0, 0-0) squared off with Utica (0-1, 0-0) in the first match of the season and the Freddies controlled play from the start, in a 3-0 sweep victory over the Redskins.
Fredericktown won the first set 25-16 and went, 25-16 in the second set, and then finished off Utica with a 25-20 third set win.
Fredericktown recorded 36 kills in the match and spread them around nicely, with junior Lillian Rose leading the way with nine kills. She also had a pair of blocks, one dig and two assists. Senior setter Julia Partington had 28 assists and 12 digs. Ella Bouton and Jillian Bouton had eight and seven kills respectively, while Cally Carpenter posted seven kills. Taylor Bryant recorded 13 digs in the match.
The Redskins were led by Hannah Shaver, who had eight kills. Emilee Ellis filled the stat sheet with eight digs, six assists and three kills. Lexi Wiegand had 12 digs, three assists and two aces, while Emma Kimpel had 16 digs.
Northridge 3, Cardington-Lincoln 1
Cardington-Lincoln (0-1, 0-0) had a tough start to the season against Northridge (1-0, 0-0), and despite a respectable offensive showing by senior Lily Clark, the Pirates were knocked off 3-1 on Saturday.
Cardington-Lincoln opened the match with a convincing 25-14 victory and looked ready to play, but Northridge woke up and won the next three matches by scores of 25-20, 25-9 and 25-7.
Clark had 13 kills, one ace, one block and 14 digs. Senior setter Abby Ufferman had 30 assists, seven digs, one ace and two kills. Autumn Holt recorded nine kills and 10 digs. Junior Rylee Donkin had 14 digs and freshman Lundyn Belvins was impressive on defense with 13 digs in the match.
Elgin 3, Mount Gilead 0
Mount Gilead (0-1, 0-0) couldn’t keep up with with the Elgin Comets (1-0, 0-0) to start the volleyball season, taking a sweep loss on Saturday in the opening match.
Elgin controlled the match from the start. The Comets had 25-14 wins in both the first and second sets, and then finished with a 25-12 blowout win to secure the 3-0 win.
