43
Gilmour advances as Girard bows out
The Indians fall 3-1 to Lancers in Barberton regional
BARBERTON
It wasn’t nearly how Bryanna Jay drew up the final game of her Girard career — yet somehow it was fitting.
The Indians fell three game to one to Gilmour Academy. In the fourth game of Wednesday’s regional semifinal at Barberton High, Jay spiked a ball over the net for the Indians’ 11th point of the fourth game. It was one of her 19 kills on the match as well as the final time she would touch the ball in a black uniform.
“It ran through my mind,” Jay said. “I think it was a good way to go out like that. Against a 6-3 blocker, it was nice ... went out with a bang.”
Most of the match was a statement by the Indians as they had to try to keep up with what the Lancers were throwing at them.
“They’re a very good defensive team and we knew that,” Girard coach Phil Walters said. “They have a couple of real nice hitters; however, our biggest issue was putting the ball in play and limiting the errors.”
After gaining momentum by earning nine straight points in game one, Gilmour held on for a 25-18 win.
But, that wasn’t the last time the Indians made noise. They fell behind 14-8, but managed to stay within shouting distance. When Morgan Walters aced one to make it 22-18 Gilmour, Girard turned it on.
Jay tallied three kills and Kara Miller added another. Taylor Bell sealed the deal with a kill on the outside for a game two final score of 25-23 for the Indians.
“We made some adjustments and got some touches,” Phil Walters said. “We settled down a little bit.”
But for the rest of the match, the Indians would be on their toes.
The Lancers won game three 25-17 and dominated the fourth. By tallying 11 straight points — and earning 19 of the final 22 points, Gilmour finished with a 25-11 game four victory.
“They dug everything,” Jay said. “With good teams, you have to out-volley them and we didn’t. We had too many errors and that’s what killed us in the end.”
She said she believes that her squad simply “ran out of gas,” but that surely won’t define her four years at Girard.
“It was a great run,” she said. “We did stuff at Girard that hasn’t been done in a long time. We earned a lot of respect for the program and I hope it stays after I’m gone.”