Crestwood volleyball turns back Salem

October 25, 2013 at 12:04a.m.

By Tim Cleveland

BOARDman

With a 24-21 lead in Game 1, the Salem volleyball team seemed on its way to gaining an early advantage on Crestwood in the Division II district final.

But the Quakers’ fortunes went from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, as Crestwood rallied to win that game and earned a 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 win at Boardman High School.

“I knew that this was going to be a tough match because they’ve got some really big girls and their verticals are pretty outstanding,” Salem coach Allie Winner said. “All I ask of my girls is that they give it their all. We left the court with no regrets.

“Throughout this season, we had some ups and downs, and my girls got really down on themselves and that was the reason we lost games. Tonight, I feel that was a really good team we played, and I’m really pleased with the way my team played tonight.”

Crestwood coach Brittany Mayle said after her team failed to win its conference, she was not going to let it lose the district title.

“It’s almost a blessing we lost in our [Portage Trail] conference championship game because it motivated us to win this championship game,” she said.

Down by three points and at the brink in the first game, Taylor Atkins had a kill to give the serve back to Crestwood (22-3). Morgan Strenk sent down a kill to make it a one-point game and after Crestwood earned two more points, Strenk finished off with another kill.

Both coaches agreed that the opening game was the decisive one.

“I think if we had closed out that first game, there could have maybe been a different outcome,” Winner said.

“I think the first set determined the match,” Mayle said. “We’ve played some tough competition so we were ready for that. I thought we matched up very well with Salem. Tonight could have gone either way; we just caught the breaks.”

The roles were nearly reversed in Game 2, as Crestwood took a 23-20 lead. Camrin Costal had a kill for Salem (18-7), then Olivia Stiff had an ace to pull the Quakers to within one point.

After an exchange of points, Strenk had a kill to end the game.

Being close to defeat, Salem fought hard in the final game, never allowing the Red Devils to gain more than a four-point lead.

Strenk stepped up yet again for her team, having a kill for a 20-18 advantage. After Salem went ahead 21-20, Strenk had a kill to tie it up, then successfully served two points.

“Yesterday in practice, I felt like I worked my hardest ever,” Strenk said. “I just really wanted it bad. I knew I had to come out strong. I felt like I did and so did the rest of my team, too. I felt like everybody had the best night they had.”

Salem earned a point, then Crestwood’s Reana Szarka defensively had a smash go off her and land in among a group of Quakers. One point from victory, Hayley Zigman smashed down one of her seven kills for the winning point.

“It was amazing. They are such a great team,” Zigman said. “We had to do a lot. Their middles are big and they put up a very good block. We just had to do what we practiced yesterday. We just had the confidence. I’m so excited.”

Crestwood advances to the Stow regional on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.