GIBSONBURG — After last year’s run to the Division II regional final, one match short of the state final four, Lake volleyball has embarked on another hopeful deep tournament run.
Monday, Lake improved to 18-6 with a 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15 Division IV (OHSAA expanded from four to seven divisions this year) district semifinal win over Sandusky Perkins (6-18) at Gibsonburg High School.
Last year’s Lake team finished 21-7, losing to Gates Mills Gilmour Academy in the regional final, and the Flyers sent two seniors from that team, Vayda Delventhal (Cleveland State University) and Taryn DeWese (Vanderbilt University) to NCAA Division I programs.
Keira Magers, a big part of that squad and now a senior middle hitter this year, says the challenge is to keep the tradition alive.
“Just because we lose a few good players does not mean that our entire program has gone to trash,” Magers said. “We are still a group of girls, and I think that we can make it very far this year, also.”
The Flyers got balanced scoring in the win over the Pirates Monday, led offensively by sophomore middle hitter Mylah Vorst with 14 kills, Magers had 12 kills, senior outside hitter Sydney Brown had eight kills, and sophomore outside hitter Laynie Meadows and sophomore right side hitter Kennedy Falkenberg had seven kills apiece.
Sophomore setter Lucy Boos recorded 28 assists, junior setter Savanna Saunders had 19 assists and five aces, and sophomore defensive specialist Calli Conley had two aces.
Senior DS Sydney Marchetto led the defense with 29 digs and Meadows had 23 digs. Even with so many players contributing with numbers in double digits, the Pirates put up a good fight.
On September 7, Lake, the Northern Buckeye Conference outright champions for the fourth straight year, swept the Pirates 25-10, 25-8, 25-21, with starters on the bench much of the third set. This match was anything but a blowout — so close at times that an upset almost seemed to be brewing.
“I was glad they came out strong in the first set, but in the second set we got, like, comfortable, and we know that we can never get comfortable,” Lake coach Amy Vorst said.
“Perkins, in defense of them, they’ve gotten a lot better since the first time we played them. Their ball control was much better, they served more aggressively, their middles (hitters) were much more dynamic.
“We knew that coming in. We went and watched them when they played Vermilion (Pirates’ district quarterfinal win), so we knew that they had gotten a lot better.
“But we can’t lose our focus. That’s a battle we’ve been dealing with — it’s hard to keep them hungry and focused, and that’s our problem,” coach Vorst continued.
The first set tied at five points apiece, Saunders served up a 10-point run, including four aces of her own, to put the Flyers well ahead, 15-5, and they cruised to the finish.
However, in the second set, Perkins burst ahead 10-4 on a kill by freshman outside hitter Addi Mason and the Flyers could never catch up, allowing the Pirates to even the match in sets.
The third set was tied at 18 on a kill by Perkins junior middle hitter Micah Normington-Slay, but the Flyers closed on a 7-3 run, finishing the final three points on two kills by Meadows and one by Mylah Vorst.
In the fourth, Mylah Vorst set the tone with four quick kills and then Falkenberg followed suit with four kills and teaming up with Vorst on two blocks as the Flyers opened an 18-9 lead and cruised to the finish line.
“I’m glad they pulled it out,” coach Vorst said. “I thought Savannah going on a serve run, Laynie going on a serve run, Calli going on a serve run — that was huge.
“Kennedy stepped up in that last set, so it was a good team win, I thought. Syd Brown hit some great shots and our setters did a good job distributing the ball.”
Magers said it was all about keeping the right mindset, even when things didn’t go right.
“I think that we stayed positive, for the most part, the whole time, and I think that’s what let us be able to come out at the very end to take over the whole set,” Magers said. “I think at some points it was a little rocky, but we pulled through and I think that’s because we stayed positive.”
Lake goes back to Gibsonburg for a 6 p.m. district final on Wednesday against the winner of Clyde (16-7) and Bellevue (12-10).
