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Falcons rebound
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Austintown Fitch senior Cali Mikovich (3) digs the ball during a match against Hubbard at Fitch High School on Tuesday. The Falcons won in five games.
By Steve Wilaj
AUSTINTOWN
Although it’s early in the season, Austintown Fitch volleyball coach Stephen Mohr has already found the identity of his team.
“We live by the serve and we live by hitting,” Mohr said after Tuesday’s five-game victory over Hubbard. “That’s our bread and butter.”
There’s another key recipe for the Falcons that has propelled them to a hot start after struggling in recent years.
“Our girls are finally starting to believe they can actually win,” Mohr said. “Even when they’re behind, they keep fighting. They never give up.”
That attitude was evident against the Eagles. The Falcons dropped the first set and faced game-point in the second set.
They recovered, winning the second set, 27-25, and went on to defeat the Eagles in five sets.
“This is a good win for our program in turning it around,” Mohr said. “That second set definitely gave us the momentum. It gave them the confidence, especially after the first game, losing that close set [25-23].”
Trailing 24-20 in the second set, Mohr called a timeout and made adjustments to his frontline.
“We made a rotation change and got our big hitters up with our big middle of Maura Bianco and Taylor Herman,” he said. “Then we just swung away.”
Bianco led Fitch (5-1) with 15 kills on 34 attempts. She also paced the Falcons with five blocks.
Katarina Lewis led the team with 24 assists, Alexi Corradi had 26 digs and Cali Mikovich totaled 12 points.
“I think the entire team picked it up and played very well,” Mohr said. “But Herman stands out and so does Bianco.”
Fitch won the third set as well, 25-22. But Hubbard (3-2) answered and took the fourth set handily, 25-17, before dropping the deciding set, 15-10.
“I thought we fought real hard and I think Austintown has a really good team,” Eagles coach Jeremy Porter. “They made a bunch of hustle plays there at the end and that was probably the difference in that fifth game.”
Kaylyn Garrett and Caitlin O’Hara each had 15 kills to lead Hubbard. Other team leaders were Kelly Matanin with 55 assists and Kiana Martinez with 23 digs. Garrett also made five blocks.
“We were very well-rounded tonight and everyone did a great job for us,” Porter said. “They all played hard, but sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”
“I think we’re on the right track,” Porter said. “Our goals are to do well at the end of the season, and I’ve been seeing good things out of our players and improvement each day.”