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Momentum helps Fitch volleyball move on
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Fitch’s Sydney Greenwood bumps the ball over the net during Monday night’s game against Warren Harding at Stow High School. The Falcons won in four games.
By TIM CLEVELAND
STOW
Momentum is one of the keys to victory in volleyball. The team that can snatch momentum from its foe is well on the way to winning.
That was the case Monday night in a Division I sectional semifinal at Stow-Munroe Falls High School, as Austintown Fitch took control against Warren Harding in Game 3 and claimed a 25-19, 19-25, 25-14, 25-20 victory.
“It was just playing our game,” Fitch coach Stephen Mohr said. “I felt we were better than Warren Harding. We played them earlier in the season. We both improved, but I thought we were a little better. Just play to our game, not to their game. Keep it simple, make simple passes, good sets and hit.”
Harding coach Heather Guthrie said her team started the season strong, but faded as it went on.
“We had a very good season; unfortunately our postseason wasn’t so great,” she said. “We went out strong, we played the middle strong; at the end of the season, we just weren’t where we needed to be.”
After the teams split the first two games, Fitch sophomore Sarah Obradovich took it upon herself to key the Falcons in Game 3. She served consecutive aces for a 9-4 lead, then added another point. Later in the game, she had a kill, then served the last five points of the game, including the last two with aces.
“I thought I did pretty well,” said Obradovich, who had seven kills and five aces. “Our team held together a lot. We just worked as a team to come through.”
In a tight final game, Obradovich had three kills to give Fitch (16-7) a 14-13 lead. She then served two points for a three-point advantage.
“She’s been sort of the carrier of the team,” Mohr said. “When she’s about 18 kills per game, we’re in the win column.”
Trailing 24-18 in Game 4, Harding (18-5) won a point to get the serve, which Kristin Sampson converted to pull the Raiders to within four points. But, with an opportunity to potentially swing the momentum to Harding, she hit her next serve into the net to end the match.
Maya Bell paced Harding with 11 kills. She had a three-point stretch in Game 2 to give the Raiders a 22-14 lead. She added another kill to bring Harding to within 16-14 in the fourth game.
“[Bell] threw us for a loop,” Mohr said. “We couldn’t get a read on her. Then we decided to change up the blocking on her and that helped. It helped our back row be able to shift to the right and be able to pick her balls up.”
Fitch advances to play Kent Roosevelt in a sectional final Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Mohr said the Falcons are preparing a new strategy for their next foe.
“We’ve got some things in the mix we’re going to work on,” he said. “The key’s making sure our defense is ready. Work a couple quick outsides and some other stuff with our front row.”