WHITEHOUSE — Two state-ranked teams went at it Wednesday night at Anthony Wayne’s Dick Albaugh Physical Education and Athletic Center, but it was the Generals who won over Perrysburg in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-16.
AW, ranked second in Ohio in the Division II coaches’ poll, improves to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division, while Perrysburg suffers its first loss, falling to 7-1 and 2-1.
“They play well a lot of times. Tonight, just wasn’t their night,” Perrysburg coach Laura Davidson said.
“We always tell them to do your job, and I think we just weren’t doing our job sometimes tonight. Some girls wanted to step up when they could, but it was just inconsistent for us, and I think our passing kind of broke down.”
Davidson believed her team’s energy levels were low, and she hopes it can be a learning experience when the two teams meet again on Perrysburg’s court on October 8.
“We tell them you are going to learn more from your losses than your wins, right? So, we are a team that is very talented. I think our energy levels definitely told us what is going to happen,” Davidson said.
“When we decided that our energy was going to be higher and we wanted to fight, you saw us fighting. When we were a little bit lower in energy then we just lacked some confidence, and we weren’t playing as tough.
“We have a lot of talent, and we are going to decide how we are going to get better from here.”
In the first set, a kill by Perrysburg sophomore Charley Gardner put the Yellow Jackets up 17-15, but the Generals closed on a 10-4 run to put the set away.
In the second set, a kill by junior middle blocker Hayden Siebenaler gave the Jackets an 18-17 lead, then Siebenaler buried a kill to tie the game at 20-20, bookended by unconventional no-look kills by junior setter Casey Ng, tying the game at 21-all.
However, the Generals scored the final four points, including the final two on block assists from the right side by junior middle blocker Elena Carlson and sophomore right side hitter Elise Johnson to close out the set.
Blocking is something the Generals have been working on and it paid off.
“I think we served pretty tough to keep them out of system, our blocking honestly has been a big focus for us this week,” AW coach Chrissy Graven said.
“We started out slow. We’re working on her (Johnson) pushing back and sealing, and we’re getting more consistent from that angle. Overall, that’s been a big focus for us and will make a big difference for us in the long haul.”
An ace by AW senior setter Aubrey Rieger put the Generals up 18-10 in the third set and it was smooth sailing from there. Graven said her team came to play.
“Honestly, any season when we are playing Perrysburg It’s always a battle, no matter whether we are state-ranked or not,” Graven said.
“But these girls — they want it. They are super focused. They work hard and they are definitely loud in the timeouts about what we need to focus on and what we need to keep doing.”
AW got 18 kills from junior outside hitter Mallory Pike and twin sister, junior Leah Pike, had 16 kills. Junior defensive specialist Jessie Kennelly served three aces, and Carlson had seven block assists and Johnson had five block assists.
Reiger led the Generals’ passing attack with 31 assists, and defensively, senior libero Ryan Dzierwa and Gardner had 13 digs apiece and Kennelly had 10 digs.
For Perrysburg, junior Katie Pahl had a team-high 13 kills, Burkey had six kills, sophomore Allison McDowell had five kills and senior Mackenzie Hurley had four kills. McDowell had four blocks, Hurley had three blocks, and senior libero Brooklynn Okoneski had two aces.
