FITCH ESCAPES LEOPARDS GRASP

AUSTINTOWN OH-In what looked to be a mismatch on the volleyball court Wednesday night in Austintown. A single win Louisville Leopards team traveled to Fitch in a battle with the one loss Falcons. The junior varsity teams went the full three sets and put on a show, leaving the crowd wondering, how can varsity top that? Well, a back and forth battle ensued in Set 1, with Brooke Haren for Louisville and Jocelyn Jourdan for Austintown exchanging big kills throughout. The serving game from The Falcons made all the difference in Set 1, allowing Fitch to pull away late for the 7-point set victory.

Set 2 was like watching a replay of the set previous, with the exchanging of scores both ways for a majority of the set. Again, Austintown’s serve game turned the tide on The Leopards. With some late aces, Fitch ended up on top 25-19 in the second set.

With their backs against the wall, Louisville had one of two choices. Suffer the straight set match loss, or continue the fight and make adjustments. Opting for the latter, The Leopards kicked up the intensity and brought extra hustle on defense. Shutting down some great swings from Austintown, while playing supreme net defense, Louisville used grit and determination to pull off the 3 point set win, forcing Set 4. Taking inspiration from Fitch, The Leopards ran a replay of Set 3 on The Falcons, grabbing and maintaining firm control of the fourth set from the first serve. Riding the momentum, Louisville ran it back and captured another close set victory, evening the score at 2 sets a piece.

For the second time in as many years, Louisville and Austintown were going to a Set 5. It was a battle to grab momentum between the two teams with neither being able to grab ahold of it right away. Back and forth both teams scored until they were tied up 12-12 in Set 5. However, The Falcons were able to clutch up and escape The Leopards grasp, but to no discredit of Louisville who played a phenomenal game against one of the areas best! Jocelyn Jourdan tied her own record of 32 Kills in a match Wednesday night to add to her amazing career!

With the narrow win, Fitch (11-1) will have little time to enjoy the win, as they host Mooney (6-4) on Thursday, September 22nd. For Louisville (1-14) they will have the weekend to prepare to travel to Massillon Tuslaw (11-2) on Monday, September 26th.

Set Scores

S1: Austintown 25 – 18 Louisville

S2: Austintown 25 – 19 Louisville

S3: Louisville 25 – 22 Austintown

S4: Louisville 25 – 21 Austintown

S5: Austintown 15 – 12 Louisville

Match: Austintown 3 – 2 Louisville

Partial Stats (Austintown)

Jocelyn Jourdan: 32 Kills, 15 Digs.

Riley Simons: 45 Assists, 13 Digs.

Afton Roby: 8 Aces, 7 Kills, 3 Blocks.

Kylie Folkwein: 6 Aces, 14 Digs.