CHESTERLAND – West Geauga shook off its slow start to the season and stormed back on Monday, rallying past visiting Trinity for a 25-27, 25-12, 25-11, 25-14 victory that gave the Wolverines their first win of 2025.
The Wolverines (1-2) dropped the opening set despite leading early, but once they found their rhythm, they never looked back.
“We just didn’t play volleyball. It took us an entire set to get into the game, but we’re coming off a game (last) Thursday with no practice Friday, and then a game today,” said West Geauga head coach Amber Baker. “Sometimes we have a slow start when the games line up like that, and I felt that was going to happen when we started to go down, but I knew we’d be able to turn it around. If we show up, we’re winning.”
West Geauga jumped ahead 5-0 in the opener, but Trinity clawed its way back. The set became a back-and-forth battle until senior hitter Leah Grimes closed the frame with a kill, giving the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
“I reminded the girls that we have to keep our side of the street clean, keep our errors low,” Baker said. “We have to keep it simple: pass, set, hit. We don’t have to make it fancy; we just need to work on our fundamentals, and we capitalized on that. We served them off the court as the sets went on, so it was about starting simple.”
The message landed. The Wolverines dominated the second set, building a 10-5 lead and riding their momentum to a Joelle Insana kill that evened the match.
In set three, Olivia Penzenic knotted things at 4-4 with an ace before West Geauga ripped off a 9-2 run to seize control. Setter Mallory Lear capped the surge with a crafty dump to put the Wolverines ahead, 2-1.
By the fourth, West Geauga had found its groove. Trinity trimmed a seven-point deficit to 12-7, but the Wolverines closed strong, finishing off the match in style.
After opening the season with back-to-back losses—including a five-set heartbreaker to West Branch and a sweep at Aurora—dropping the first set Monday could have been disastrous. Instead, the Wolverines regrouped.
“We just had to have that goldfish mentality and forget about things so we can move forward fast,” Baker said. “This week is huge. We really want to come out of this week with three wins, and we can totally do that. As long as we come in, have fun, and stay determined, it’ll happen. It always starts with our fundamentals, keeping our fire going no matter what’s happening, and taking it point-by-point.”
Lear orchestrated the offense with 32 assists, feeding a balanced attack led by Anna Grill’s 20 kills and three blocks. Insana added seven kills, four digs, and an ace, while Ella Grill contributed eight kills and five blocks. In the middle, Kelsie Fink stood tall with seven blocks, and Gambatese punished the Trojans’ back row with five aces.
Trinity (1-3) didn’t go quietly, especially in the opener, when the Trojans’ senior-heavy lineup matched West Geauga point for point.
“This team has a lot of grit and heart, and they play well together,” said Trinity head coach Susan Dezzutti. “It’s a very senior-led team that’s been playing together for a long time. They just dug in and were ready to play, and rose to the occasion in that first set. West G is a great team, and we fought all the way to the end.”
Much of Trinity’s success came from its front line. Micaiah Hall and Trinity Johnson combined for 15 blocks and 18 kills, while setter Aubrie Minor chipped in 15 assists and an ace.
“We just have to continue to work on our blocking and our connection,” Hall said. “We have to keep moving fast and always try to have our timing adapt to whoever the hitter is.”
West Geauga looks to keep the momentum rolling when it travels to Geneva on Aug. 26, while Trinity returns home the same night to face conference rival Cuyahoga Heights.
