Centerburg, Mount Vernon, Loudonville and Northmor won mid-week volleyball matches, and Fredericktown had their seven-game win streak snapped.
Centerburg 3, Olentangy 2
Stella Weisbrod stepped up on offense with 19 kills to lead the Centerburg (8-1, 4-0) volleyball team to a 3-2 win over Olentangy (1-6, 0-0) on Wednesday night.
The Trojans won the first set 25-18, but the Braves battled hard in the second set to pick up a 25-23 win. Centerburg followed with a strong 25-17 win in the third set, but both teams went back-and-forth in the fourth set until Olentangy came away with a 29-27 win. Centerburg finished off the deciding set with a close 15-13 win to take the match.
Weisbrod had 19 kills, two aces and 21 digs to lead the Trojans to victory. Katelyn Johnson was a force on defense with 26 digs. Kennedi Glenn and Clara Johnson both set the ball well for the Trojans with 21 and 15 assists respectively. Glenn added 13 digs and Johnson had six digs. Glenn also had seven kills in the win.
Delaware Christian 3, Fredericktown 1
Fredericktown (7-1, 3-0) was riding a seven-game winning streak to start the season, but Bekah Williams and Ellie Tiede combined for 34 digs, with Kyra Lansford providing 32 assists, to lead Delaware Christian (7-1, 3-0) to a 3-1 win and hand the Freddies their first loss of the season, in a non-conference match on Tuesday.
The Eagles and Freddies had a tight battle in set one, but Delaware Christian managed to squeak by with a 25-23 victory. The Eagles dominated the second set 25-15, but the Freddies managed to fight for a third set win by a score of 27-25. The Eagles finished off the Freddies 25-22 in another close set between two solid volleyball teams.
Delaware Christian had 49 total kills in the match, highlighted by 18 for Williams and 16 for Tiede. The Eagle defense was also a major factor in putting the Freddies away, recording 82 digs as a team with Williams posting 25 digs and Payton Eversole with 19 digs.
Lillian Rose had nine kills and Ella Bouton has seven kills for the Freddies. Cally Carpenter had 14 digs and 22 receptions and Julia Partington added 13 digs and 22 assists for Fredericktown.
Mount Vernon 3, West Holmes 0
Jurnie Gleason stepped up on both offense and defense for Mount Vernon (7-2, 4-1) on Tuesday against OCC foe West Holmes (1-7, 0-5), with the Yellow Jackets taking a 3-0 win over the Knights.
Mount Vernon and West Holmes battled in the first set, but the Yellow Jackets were able to come out on top with a close 25-22 win. The Yellow Jackets went up 25-15 in the second set and then polished things off with a 25-12 win in set three to complete the sweep.
Gleason had a match-high 11 kills, and also led the way on the Lady Jackets' defense with 10 digs. She excelled from the serving line as well, with a pair of aces. MV's Emma Dean recorded nine kills, two aces, five blocks and four digs in a strong all-around performance. Tori Burdette set the ball well with 35 assists to go with four kills. Kaitlyn Thompson had eight kills and a pair of blocks, while Audrey Stuller had 18 digs. Ady Beaver was solid from the serving line with four aces, and also had nine digs on defense.
Loudonville 3, Central Christian 0
Loudonville (4-3, 2-0) got stronger as the night progressed and swept Central Christian (0-6, 0-2) in a Mid-Buckeye Conference matchup at home, thanks to a big 17-kill night by Maya Heffelfinger, who led the Redbirds to a 3-0 win over the Comets.
The Redbirds and Comets had a close set one to start the night, with Loudonville coming away with a 25-22 win. The Redbirds then went into beast mode for 25-12 and 25-10 wins in set two and three.
Heffelfinger was a force for the Redbirds in all areas, with 15 serving points, three aces and five digs to go with his match-high 17 kills. She was set up by Payton VanSickle, who recorded 29 assists. VanSickle also had four kills, nine digs, five aces and seven serving points. Mikala Humphrey also put together a solid match with 14 serve receptions and seven digs. Olyvia Fenton was the defensive leader with 12 digs on the night.
Galion 3, Highland 0
The Highland (6-2, 3-1) volleyball team had their hands full with Galion (9-1, 3-0) in a home conference matchup on Tuesday night, with the Tigers beating the Lady Scots in three straight sets for a sweep victory.
The matchup between last year’s co-champions proved to be lopsided, which is rare for Highland, who had not been swept in a conference matchup in about 11 years.
The Tigers took set one 25-20, despite Highland opening with a 9-4 lead. This became a back-and-forth fight between the two MOAC juggernauts, who saw themselves tied 16-16 before Galion surged to a victory.
The Tigers then followed with another close set two with a 25-21 win, a see-saw battle that went to a 14-14 tie. Galion then went off for a 7-1 run and ultimately won the set.
Galion finished off the Lady Scots with an easy 25-16 third set win, despite Highland leading 6-1 to start.
Highland's Kameron Stover had 20 kills in the match and Camryn Miller finished with 13 digs and 18 receptions. Teammate Larsen Terrill had 10 digs and 26 of Highland’s 29 assists.
Plymouth 3, Mount Gilead 0
The struggles for Mount Gilead (0-6, 0-2) continued on Tuesday night in non-conference play against Plymouth (2-4, 0-3), with the Indians getting swept 3-0 by Big Red.
Plymouth started off with a tight 25-23 win, but followed with a blowout set two win by a score of 25-13. Big Red took set three 25-22 to clinch the win.
Lakewood 3, Utica 2
Lexi Wiegand was a dominant defensive force for Utica (5-5, 1-3) on Tuesday night against Lakewood (3-6, 1-4). Both teams fought hard until the fifth set, with the Lancers walking away with a 3-2 conference victory.
Lakewood was led by Aubrey Howell, who recorded 22 kills to help the Lancers finish off Utica in a back-and-forth match between two Licking County League-Cardinal Division teams. Josie Lynch did an excellent job setting for the Lancers, recording 45 assists.
Utica took the first set 25-17, highlighted by a block/kill by Leigha Burnett to clinch the victory. Lakewood responded with a 25-15 set two win. In the second set Lakewood had an 8-3 lead and never looked back. Kristen Ryan recorded an ace and Lauren Schmitt had a block/kill in the set for Utica.
Lakewood then won 25-17 in the third set, despite Utica gaining a 12-10 lead on a Makena Wilson spike kill.
Utica fought for a big, convincing set four win of 25-17, highlighted by a big spike kill to go up 14-8. This win took the match to a fifth and final set. This one proved to be a doozie, and while it needed to go to extra points to decide a victor, the Lancers took a 17-15 win.
Wiegand recorded 24 digs and a pair of aces for the Redskins. Alexa Gosnell was the main setter with 16 assists, and also had 11 digs and four kills. Emilee Ellis had six assists, nine digs, four kills and two aces. Burnett led the team in kills with eight. Hannah Shaver and Makena Wilson put up five and four kills respectively.
Northmor 3, Mount Gilead 0
Northmor (4-2, 2-1) handed Mount Gilead (0-7, 0-3) their seventh straight loss to start the season in a sweep victory over the Indians on Wednesday in a KMAC matchup at home.
The Golden Knights won the first set 25-19, and then went on to beat the Indians 25-16 and 25-12 in sets two and three.
