FITCH TRIUMPHS IN BATTLE OF UNBEATENS

By Ty Bartell 

AUSTINTOWN OH- Saturday morning was set up for quite the battle on the volleyball court when The Apple Creek Waynedale Golden Bears put their perfect 6-0 record against Austintown-Fitch and their 5-0 clip. Both teams are looking to continue the momentum and keep it rolling in the campaign as volleyball season nears its midway point.

What is the old saying? The early bird gets the worm? The Falcons executed that by translating it to the volleyball court off an impressive 25-10 set one win. Afton Roby was an enforcer at the net and made life difficult for the swing attempts of Waynedale.
After experiencing an early set slump after making the tip up to Austintown, The Golden Bears looked much improved in the following set. Engaging in some early back-and-forth scoring runs with Fitch, while taking the lead a couple times later in the set. However, The Falcons were able to soar just a bit higher in the late set, claiming victory 25-20 and taking a two sets to none lead over Waynedale.

One rule about Apple Creek, you do not go up it without a paddle and The Golden Bears ensured they had one in set three to navigate the rough waters, trailing by two sets. Addessa Miller and Alyssa Geiser stepped up in big ways for the Bears in set three. Locking it down on defense while simultaneously pitching in effectively on offense, they helped Waynedale avoid a straight set sweep and fend off Fitch with a 25-18 set win.

However, Austintown would not lose focus. After set four started off an early battle, the swings by Jordan Smith (20 kills) and Morgan Roby (14 kills) started connecting with more regularity as Rylie Simons (44 assists) and Afton Roby were like poetry in motion to watch work in the set. Fitch would claim the 25-18 set four win and the overall match 3-1, thus continuing their undefeated season, while hanging the first loss on Waynedale this year.

Afton Roby earned Player of the Game nods with a 10 kill and 7 block performance. Her net defense and ability to keep The Golden Bears off balanced made a huge impact in The Falcon victory. Fitch (6-0) will now stay home and await All-American Conference (AAC) rival in The Boardman Spartans (4-3) on Tuesday, September 5th at a 7 p.m. start time.