Boardman finishes off Fitch in four

By Ryan Buck

sport @vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

After controlling the majority of Thursday night’s match with longtime rival Austintown Fitch and ahead 2-1 in games, the Boardman High volleyball team found itself two measly points away from watching the Falcons force a deciding fifth.

The Spartans, having already taken the first of their two regular-season matches with Fitch, 3-0, trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth game and had methodically crept back into it when they secured the serve after an errant Fitch serve at 23-19.

“That was the first time that their energy was up since the first game,” said Boardman coach Andrew Wade. “We kind of went through the motions a little bit until we believed we had a shot that we can win. You could see some of their energy and confidence coming back too.”

The Spartans reeled off the next five points thanks to two more Fitch miscues and clutch plays from a robust trio of middle hitters to claim a 25-23 game win and a 25-9, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23 (3-1) victory.

Spartans senior Hope Landers is one of them and had no intentions of leaving the Fitch gym without another victory — six in her three-year varsity career — over the Falcons.

“We didn’t want to lose to them,” Landers said with a hint of emphasis on “them.”

“We’d beaten them before so we had to pick up the momentum. We wanted to keep the tradition going.”

Landers, fellow senior Cailin Downie and junior Krista Johnson were all pivotal in the Spartans’ final rally. With Landers already having done damage throughout the fourth game to facilitate the comeback, Downie recorded Boardman’s go-ahead point after a Fitch timeout.

On match point, Johnson ended a long rally with a surprise drop shot that found the court between the unsuspecting Fitch defense.

“We started pushing the corners where they weren’t and just kept going,” Landers said. “We wouldn’t let the ball hit the floor [on our end].”

The Falcons and coach Steve Mohr watched perhaps a season-defining match slip away.

After a poor opening game, a refocused Falcons squad roared back to take the second in impressive fashion before the Spartans made their own runs.

“We made some adjustments in terms of our blocking and got them the second game,” said Mohr, in his second season with Fitch.

“[Boardman has] really good outside hitters and they’re smart. They’re seniors so they know how to place the ball really well. We were there to make the play, we just couldn’t.”

Wade sensed a lack of urgency after the opening victory, but a renewed sense of confidence was omnipresent in the fourth set comeback from an 11-2 deficit.

“We did a good job siding-out,” Wade said, “and I also think we had a couple of servers that went on runs of two-three points and we slowly chipped away. You could see the confidence in some of the girls and some stepping up as leaders.

“I think [a first-game win] sometimes gets people complacent, but I also think a 1-0 start takes away that pressure to have to win game No. 2.”

Fitch standout Sarah Obradovich led all players with 15 kills while Boardman’s Johnson recorded 14. Obradovich also had 27 digs and a match-high four blocks.