By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
OAK HARBOR — When Oak Harbor and Lake got together a few weeks ago, the Flyers were three points from losing, 3-0, before rallying to defeat the Rockets in a thriller, 3-2.
Lake knew that if it wanted to remain in the driver’s seat of the Northern Buckeye Conference race, it would have to beat Oak Harbor on Tuesday.
This time around, the Flyers (12-2, 9-0 NBC) won another competitive match, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14), holding off the Rockets (10-4, 6-3) in the first two sets before cruising to victory in the third set.
Lake won the first set after it was tied, 17-17, before the Flyers finished it off with eight straight points, five of which were scored on unforced errors, two of which were scored on aces, and a Sydney Brown kill accounted for the other point.
Overall, there were six ties in the first set, and two lead changes. Oak Harbor led 2-1 and an unforced error by the Rockets tied the score at 12. There were ties at 13-13, 14-14, 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17 as Oak Harbor fought back four times after falling behind by a point.
The second set was even more dramatic as there were 10 ties and seven lead changes. The final tie came at 15-15, and Lake won four straight points from there to take control of the match, keyed by three unforced errors and a block by Mylah Vorst.
“We had a good scouting report. I have to credit my coaching staff. Stacey Cromer did a good job,” said Lake coach Amy Vorst. “We knew who their primary hitters were. We came in hungry. We were pretty dialed in. We started off slow but finished strong.”
Kennedy Falkenberg led the Flyers with 11 kills, and Mylah Vorst finished with nine.
“Kennedy really came on, and Mylah led us with 24 kills in the first Oak Harbor match,” said Amy Vorst. “The last time we faced Oak Harbor, Kennedy didn’t play as much.”
It was a total team effort.
“Our setters did a phenomenal job moving the ball around,” said Vorst. “We moved it around and got them out of system a little bit. I thought the serving and defense was the key to pulling away in the last two sets.”
The win keeps Lake two games ahead of Eastwood in the league standings.
“This was a big match. Oak Harbor now has three league losses and Eastwood has two losses in the NBC,” said Vorst. “This doesn’t (allow) us to relax, but it was a big win. I’m very proud of the girls.”
Sydney Marchetto finished with 11 digs, Laynie Meadows had four aces and 12 digs, Savanna Saunders had 15 assists and Lucy Boos chipped in with 10 assists.
In the third set, Lake jumped out to a 10-1 lead and the Rockets got no closer than five points the rest of the way. Saunders, Kerr Magers and Mylah Vorst had some key kills to finish off the Rockets.
Oak Harbor coach Kaytlynn Sandwisch said her team needed to come out better the first two sets.
“We had energy and momentum, to an extent. My girls had hopes and drive, (but) we just can’t finish,” she said. “Lake is a phenomenal team, they’ve always been good. We have to capitalize on their mistakes. I think we stopped being aggressive. We have to control the game. That’s what Lake does.”
 won another competitive match, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14), holding off the Rockets (10-4, 6-3) in the first two sets before cruising to victory in the third set.){kind=link}