Hubbard sweeps Girard to open

September 1, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

2015 season

NILES

The Hubbard High School volleyball team went 19-6 last season, falling a game shy of the regional championship contest.

If the Eagles get back to the district tournament, they will have a challenging league schedule to thank for the preparation.

Alivia Sandberg had 15 points, 11 kills, eight digs and three assists to lead Hubbard (1-0, 1-0) over the Girard, 3-0, in All-American Conference action Monday at the Eagles Nest. The scores were 25-22, 25-13, 25-21.

“We lost five seniors off of last year’s team so we’re a lot younger and with a new dynamic,” said Sandberg, Hubbard’s team captain. “We were a little jittery in the opening game.

“We know what we are capable of and it showed in the second game,” Sandberg said. “We were a little too confident in the final game, but got the job done.”

Hubbard head coach Jeremy Porter was pleased “with our overall play because these girls have been working really hard in order to get ready for the season.

“Girard is always a tough opponent and they showed that tonight.”

Porter said Sandberg “has done an excellent job of coming in and becoming our team leader.

“Playing all-out, hustling and diving for the ball while never giving up has been the Hubbard trademark for many years and the girls played exactly like that tonight,” Porter said. “One of our goals is to get back to district and the league will prepare us for that.

“There’s simply no day off in our league.”

Emily Krinos had nine assists, Adria Powell 12 points and five blocks, Addy Jarvis six aces, Fahndrich 17 digs and Ruthie Sandberg 11 digs to lead Hubbard.

For the Indians, Lexi Crown had seven kills and three blocks, Sydney Teter three blocks, Melanie Bakes 14 assists, Lorren Alejars eight digs, Makayla Trebella six digs, Carlie Angelo 11 points and four aces and Maddie DelBene 10 points and three aces.

In a seesaw opening game that featured seven ties and five lead changes, four points by Ruthie Sandberg and three each from Kristen Fahndrich, Krinos and Jarvis led the Eagles to a their three-point victory.

Fahndrich’s third point of the game gave Hubbard a 17-11 advantage. But with the score 19-14, DelBene reeled off seven consecutive points.

With the score knotted at 22-22, Jarvis then served the final three points.

In the second game, nine consecutive points by Jarvis helped the Eagles build a 22-4 lead as they coasted to a 12-point victory.

Unforced errors proved to be costly for the Indians (1-1, 0-1).

“If you clean up what you can clean up, then you can compete,” Girard coach Phil Walters said. “We had a lot of unforced errors tonight and our offense couldn’t take off because of a couple of their tall players in the middle.

“This was a good game for me in that we have no seniors on the team, so I had an opportunity to see how my juniors would react in the face of adversity,” Walters said. “I felt that while we played well at times, we still need to improve and do better the little things that win you games. Hubbard was able to exploit that tonight.

The Eagles built a 12-7 lead in the final game, fell behind 17-15 and with a 23-21 lead, Krinos registered the final two points for the sweep.