KIRTLAND–Kirtland Volleyball coach Ricky Sanders wanted his Hornets to take care of business with a 5-1 Wickliffe Volleyball team coming to town.
They did just that.
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Kirtland used a dominant night from the service line to sweep the Blue Devils, 25-7, 25-19, 25-16, on Sept. 2.
“Our service was really good tonight,” Sanders said. “They actually hit target every single time, which is more unlikely in high school than they can do that. But they were on point today, and everything worked out great. I was able to get everybody in and have every girl play, so that was really good.”
The Hornets set the tone immediately, racing to a 9-0 lead behind four early aces from Andriana Grman.
Kirtland’s advantage grew to 17-1 on an Elise Hurd kill before the Hornets closed out the opening set, 25-7.
Nearly half of Kirtland’s points in the set came from the service line.
Wickliffe responded in the second set and built a 9-2 lead, but Kirtland steadily worked its way back. A Grman ace pulled the Hornets even at 13-13.
Ellie Spencer followed with back-to-back kills to give Kirtland a 17-14 advantage, and the Hornets never trailed again. Bria Golem finished the set with an ace for a 25-19 win and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set remained tight early.
The teams were tied at 10-10 following a block by Wickliffe’s Ava Parsons, but Kirtland soon created separation. Hurd served an ace, Spencer added a kill, and Matea Vujica scored on the attack as the Hornets stretched their lead to 21-14.
Golem then finished the match the same way she ended the second set — with an ace — to secure a 25-16 victory and the sweep.
Kirtland improved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division play.
“This is just the beginning of conference play,” Sanders said. “We knew Wickliffe was 5-1 coming, and we knew we needed to take care of business in the first set. We struggled a little bit in the second set, and I had to call a timeout to get them back together and say, ‘Listen, we’ve got to take care of business.’
“They wound up tightening it up, taking care of business. We didn’t overlook them because we don’t have the kind of team where we can overlook anyone. At times we play up, and sometimes we play down. The girls came together tonight to finish them off, and we’re looking forward to our next game tomorrow.”
Vujica led Kirtland’s attack with seven kills and three blocks. Spencer recorded seven aces and six kills, while Hurd added five kills, two aces and one block.
Golem finished with six aces, two assists and two digs, while Grman totaled 13 assists and seven aces. Sydney Schaffer recorded four kills, Riley Kinch had five assists and two aces, and Adalyn Kruger finished with six assists.
Wickliffe opened the season with five straight wins but has since dropped consecutive conference matches to Crestwood and Kirtland.
“We started off strong at 5-0, and now we’ve been swept by Crestwood and Kirtland, but the girls never quit playing,” Wickliffe coach Tarryn Ward said. “We went down in this game, and they could have given up, and they didn’t. They came back, fought, and did it yesterday during Crestwood, too.
“It’s all a mental game. It’s kind of hard for the girls, when we were on such a high with our wins, to come in and take a tough loss yesterday and then have to come back again today. But they never quit playing, and they gave it their all.”
Miana Jarosz led Wickliffe with four blocks and two kills, while Madelyne Prosuch recorded four kills and three blocks. Hailey Blazetic added three blocks and two aces.
Kirtland returns to action Sept. 4 at Rootstown. Wickliffe hosts the Rovers on Sept. 8.
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