FALCONS COMPLETE FIRST BIG ROAD TEST
AUSTINTOWN OH-?The Austintown-Fitch Falcons volleyball team has been off to quite the hot start to the season. Defeating plenty of big name teams early on like Lakeview, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and Apple Creek Waynedale just to name a few. Sporting the perfect 7-0 record heading into Thursday, The Falcons had been up to every test to that point. However, Fitch had not competed on the road yet, with all the contests being hosted on the friendly confines of home court. Not just any old road matchup, it came against another All-American Conference (AAC) opponent, the last AAC team to beat Fitch, The Canfield Cardinals!
Storming the gates early, Austintown grabbed the momentum in the opening set and ran with it. Getting a key run in the middle portion of the set gave Fitch all the separation they needed to capture the 25-17 set win. Leading one set to none, The Falcons looked to keep the pressure on Canfield, while The Cardinals needed to try and even things back up. That hungry mentality was shown by The Cards in set two with Canfield holding the lead almost the entire set. A late push brought Austintown close but they could not overcome The Cardinals who got the set two win 25-23.
With sets tied at one apiece and the match all of a sudden becoming a best of three contest, both teams knew it was go time for set three. Canfield came out with the same energy the finished set two with, capturing an early 7-2 set three lead. A resilient group of Falcons took the early blows and battled their way back in front and took it all the way to victory! Overcoming the early deficit, Fitch captured the 25-17 set win, putting the pressure back on Canfield. The momentum was swung in the gym following set three while subsequently Austintown made the necessary adjustments to improve as the match went on. Eventually getting the 25-15 set win and the match win 3-1 over The Cardinals.
Big performers included Rylie Simons who racked up another 40+ assist match for Fitch, notching 43 in the contest, while also chipping in 9 digs and a pair of aces. Kylie Folkwein (16 kills & 13 digs) and Jordan Smith (13 kills & 12 digs) each got double-doubles while earning 2 aces each. Afton Roby was doing offensive work out of the middle with 11 kills and 3 blocks on the night. While junior libero Izzy DiRenzo kept pace with her defensive performance this year, recording 22 digs in the contest.
Canfield (3-3) will now look to get back in the right column against a tough road test in The Girard Indians (7-1) on Wednesday, September 13th. Austintown-Fitch (8-0) will stay on the road and travel down to Columbiana County on Saturday, September 9th against a fellow undefeated squad, The Crestview Rebels (6-0) with an 11:30 a.m. start time.
