DIVISION IV VOLLEYBALL Windham pulls away for third straight title

The Bombers have yet to drop a tournament game this season.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LISBON -- The Lordstown High volleyball team's impressive Division IV district tournament run came to a halt Thursday, as state-ranked Windham won its third straight district championship with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-13 victory over the top-seeded Red Devils.
Windham, coached by Lordstown mayor Michael Chaffee, advanced to the Twinsburg regional next Wednesday against the winner of the Medina district.
The Bombers lived up to their nickname, using pinpoint passing to bombard Lordstown with shot after shot, keeping the Red Devils' defense scrambling.
"We passed the ball extremely well and really hit the ball on offense," said Chaffee. "It really helped that a lot of our girls have played in these district finals the last three years and were comfortable tonight."
Windham (23-1) was so dominant during this year's tournament, it never lost a single game in three matches. Lordstown (21-2) coach Pat Keney knew what his team was up against.
"They are a well-coached team and we just got beat by a better team," said Keney. "My girls ... gave it everything they had, but Windham was able to execute better than we did."
Relentless attack
One of the keys to victory for the Bombers was their relentless offensive attack. They were able to take advantage of many Lordstown free balls and convert them into scoring opportunities. The Red Devils' defense simply wore down.
"We just couldn't get our offense going because we were too busy playing defense," said Keney. "We gave them a lot of free balls and they took advantage. Good teams like Windham can keep you from running your offense."
The Bombers wasted little time gaining the advantage, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the opening game. They stretched it to a 16-10 lead before Lordstown rallied. The Red Devils outscored Windham 6-2 to cut the deficit to 18-16.
But the Bombers continued on the offensive, scoring seven of the next 11 points to pull away for a 25-20 win.
In the second game, Lordstown led by as many as three (8-5), but couldn't hold it. Windham took the advantage for good at 15-14 and rattled off 10 of the next 14 points to win the game 25-18.
Putting it away
The third game was all Windham. The Bombers broke open a 2-2 tie by outscoring Lordstown 13-7 to go ahead 15-9. The momentum continued, as Windham wore down the Red Devils' defense down the stretch and won the final game 25-13.
"I think our passing was the difference," said Chaffee. "We have a lot of offensive weapons and we were able to use them and back Lordstown off the net.
"Even though I'm the mayor over there, we all understand that I want to win, but I also want those girls over there [Lordstown] to play well, too.
"It's a tough situation, but I respect Coach Keney and how hard his girls play."
Lordstown was led by Samantha Kistler, who tallied 12 points, 15 blocks and seven kills. Alycia Israel added 17 assists and 80 sets, while Amanda Kistler had 15 blocks.