Western Reserve spikes Fitch on Falcons’ own floor

By Greg Gulas

sports @vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

If it were up to Western Reserve girls volleyball coach Jen Lorenzi, opponents have been so welcoming this year that she wouldn’t mind playing every match on the road.

Lorenzi’s Blue Devils swept Austintown Fitch, 3-0, Thursday at the Falcons Gymnasium for their 10th straight road win, recording their seventh road sweep and 11th sweep overall to improve to 16-3

“We haven’t been playing as well as we are capable of playing lately, so this was definitely a big win for us as we prepare for the upcoming tournament,” Lorenzi said. “It’s nice when you have teammates like Aleah Hughes and Rachel Maslach, two players who have played a long time together and can take over a game by themselves. We’re thankful that Austintown Fitch found a place for us on their schedule. They’re an excellent team and with players like Sarah Obradovich, who is one of their top hitters, we knew that we would have to play smarter if we expected to come into their gymnasium and win.”

In the opening game, the Blue Devils took a 15-12 lead on three service points by Sydney Miller, watched as Fitch cut the deficit to 23-22 and then held on for a 25-23 victory.

“We knew that we had to kick our game up a notch because we’ve struggled the past few times out,” said Maslach, a Western Reserve co-captain. “The road has been pretty good to us this year and tonight we seemed to play our best when we needed it most.”

Western Reserve took the second game, 25-13, as Kalina Wisniewski staked the Blue Devils to a 6-2 advantage and a lead the Falcons could not overcome.

“When we play our game and work together, good things tend to happen,” said Hughes, also a co-captain. “We didn’t know what to expect from Austintown Fitch, but we did know that we would have to play good defense in order to win. Everyone seemed to step it up a notch for us tonight.”

In a back-and-forth third game, two points by the Falcons’ Shelby Bundy gave Austintown Fitch to a 19-15 lead. The Falcons made it 22-20 on an Alex Conners service point.

With the Falcons holding a slim 24-22 margin, the Blue Devils’ Marissa Phillips then put the game away with the final four points of the contest.

“Western Reserve is an excellent team and I hope they go far in the tournament. It took us a little while to get going and focused and you cannot do that against a team like the Blue Devils if you expect to win,” Austintown Fitch coach Steve Mohr said.

Hughes had 20 kills, Wisniewski four blocks, Marissa Phipps 23 assists, and Miller nine points and three aces to pace the Blue Devils.

Obradovich had 18 kills and 14 digs to lead the Falcons. Katarina Lewis added 15 assists, Keara Katcher 14 digs, Alyssa Spear five blocks and Alex Conners adding two aces.