KIRTLAND–Kirtland rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat rival Berkshire 3-2 in a key Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division showdown on Thursday.
The Hornets won the match, 19-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-15, 15-10, and have now won two straight over the Badgers dating back to last season when the two rivals split the Valley Division title.
“This win is extremely important,” said Kirtland head coach Ricky Sanders. “We knew Berkshire had momentum coming in tonight with them taking care of business against Crestwood. We didn’t know what to expect. We knew they had a solid team, and we would have our hands full. I just told the girls to keep fighting.”
Berkshire jumped out to an early 8-5 lead in the first set and maintained that momentum, clinching the first set on a Kirtland service error.
The Badgers led in the second set, 11-6, before the Hornets made their move.
An Ellie Spencer kill gave the Hornets a 16-15 lead and another Spencer kill ended the set and tied the match, 1-1.
Set three followed the same script but in reverse order.
Kirtland led early, but Berkshire use a Hannah Hutchinson kill to take a 13-11 lead, and the Badgers regained a 2-1 advantage in the match.
It was all Kirtland in the fourth set as the Hornets stayed alive and forced a decisive fifth set.
Kirtland jumped out to a 6-1 lead and led 11-6 before Ava Chuha recorded a service ace and Marissa Rish’s kill forced the Hornets to take a time out leading 11-6.
Coach Sanders stopped the Badgers’ momentum with that timeout and focused his team on closing the win.
“I knew that the momentum was swinging in Berkshire’s favor,” Sanders said. “They got a few points in a row, and I had to stop the momentum immediately. We had a comfortable lead, and all we needed was to get a side-out. Once we got it, we knew we could take care of business the rest of the way.”
Emma Riebe clinched the win with her kill, giving Kirtland its second conference win of the week.
Despite winning the rubber match, Kirtland’s most important win of the night came in the second set.
“The set two was the biggest swing in momentum,” Sanders said. “We knew if we dropped set two, it would be a tough uphill battle. We knew we had to win set two, and us doing that was a phenomenal thing for us as a team.”
Spencer paced the Hornet attack with 15 kills while Kristiana Katic pitched in with 14.
Carmen Kalous added four blocks and seven kills, while Gabriela Veider racked up 19 assists in the passing game. Andriana Grman pitched in with 13 assists.
Stretches of inconsistency cost the Badgers.
“We made too many mistakes,” said Berkshire head coach Joni Prots. “We need to get more mentally tough and be able to avoid giving up five or six points in a row. That was the difference today.”
Moving forward, Berkshire will look to execute multiple facets better when it faces cross-town rival Cardinal on Sept. 17.
“We had a game plan coming in, and (we) stopped executing it,” Prots said. “And then, we just made too many mistakes.”
When Berkshire was doing well, it was at the hands of Jillian Smetana, who posted 13 kills, followed by Katelyn Miller, who had 11.
Both Kirsten Shaffer and Hutchinson had 10 kills for the Badgers.
Rish and Chuha both put up an astounding 23 assists each to keep the offense moving on the attack.
The Badgers dropped to 5-2 on the year following the loss.
Kirtland will visit North on Sept. 14, while Berkshire looks to get back on track when they host Cardinal on Sept. 17.
