Girard topples Rebels

By ERIC HAMILTON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

SALEM — The rationale behind the libero in high school volleyball is to give teams an extra defensive specialist. But Girard High’s McKenzie Patterson provided much more than a few key defensive plays Thursday night in the Division III district title game against Crestview.

The freshman kept the Rebels on their heels with her powerful serves, including eight aces and 16 service points, as the Indians claimed their sixth district crown in seven years with a straight set victory 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20.

“She did a tremendous job tonight,” said Girard coach Phil Walters. “We had a talk a few weeks back and I asked her where that big serve was. She had been holding back a little and not serving as aggressively. But she’s turned it on in the tournament and done what I knew she could do.

“She really wants her sister’s [Hillary] aces record and she’s off to a great start. Crestview struggled with its service receiving tonight and got off to a slow start. We got the momentum early and kept it beginning to end.”

The match marked the third straight season the teams met in the district title match. Girard won in 2005 for its fifth straight crown, but Crestview snapped that streak in 2006. Including Thursday’s contest, all three meetings have gone only three games.

The difference this time around was clearly Crestview’s inability to handle Girard’s serves, specifically those by Patterson. The Indians took advantage by staging key runs, scoring points in bunches.

“They served very well,” said Crestview coach Alisha Auer. “We were getting caught in the middle on some of those serves and that really took us out of our offense. We couldn’t get into a flow. They were able to play the balls we gave them.

“We started slowly and when we finally started to play, it was 20-5. We had a heck of a comeback, but it was too late.”

With Girard ahead 6-3 in the first game, Patterson used her floating serve to keep Crestview guessing. She served seven straight points to give the Indians the momentum and a 13-3 advantage.

That cushion swelled to 20-5 before the Rebels called timeout. When play resumed, Crestview made a run to get within 20-14 as Tess Reash served nine straight winners.

But Girard finished the game off down the stretch and claimed a 25-17 win.

Girard made another lengthy run in Game 2, turning an 18-all score into a 25-18 win. Patterson served the final six points to close the set.

Crestview got within one point several times in Game 3, including at 18-17. Girard outscored the Rebels 7-3 the rest of the way to secure the match.

“Looking back on the times we’ve played each other, the team who had the momentum from beginning to end has won,” said Walters. “I don’t understand why they’ve all went only three games. We haven’t had a good, long match yet.”

Girard (17-9) advances to the Division III regional semifinals at Barberton High next Wednesday.