FITCH WINS SEVENTH STRAIGHT

BERLIN CENTER OH- If you happened to have a bad case of “The Mondays” The Austintown Fitch Falcons and The Western Reserve Blue Devils had the cure in last night’s contest at Berlin Center. Anytime these two opponents square-off, it is sure to be a great volleyball match! Both teams went into Monday night having some really good attackers, with each side having a player with 150+ Kills in the season already!

Heading into Monday, Austintown had been winners of six straight matches, dropping just three sets total in that stretch. For Western Reserve, they have played some of the best competition in the area as well, gathering wins against the likes of Canfield and Wellsville on the season. However, dropping just their third match in a straight set loss to The Mineral Ridge Rams back on Thursday, September 15h, The Blue Devils were looking to bounce back at the start of the week.

Swing errors became the name of the game, as Reserve had great passing to set up swings, but the accuracy we have seen from The Blue Devils showed up late to the party, as Fitch took advantage, claiming Set 1 by 15 points. By the second set, Western Reserve had focused up and jumped in front of Fitch early on. With The Blue Devils holding on to the lead for over half way through the set, Austintown’s net defense came through big time. With the combined efforts of girls like Jocely Jourdan, Jordan Binion and Afton Roby The Falcons were able to set the tempo at the net and pick up extra points that way. Those extra points would seal a much closer Set 2 win for Fitch, as 8 points separated the teams this time around.

With their backs against the wall, Western Reserve came out with that same fight and energy as the previous set. Much like Set 2, Fitch also had another great game defensively at the net. Grabbing points from blocks or kills off free ball attempts, Austintown was able to stop any big runs from The Blue Devils, allowing them to dictate the momentum throughout the match and ultimately come out on top.

This edition of Western Reserve and Austintown Fitch went to The Falcons in straight sets! Fitch (10-1) will now look to Wednesday, September 21st as they will host The Louisville Leopards (1-14). As for Western Reserve (8-4), after dropping two in a row, they will look to get back on track with conference opponent Waterloo (3-7) coming to town on Tuesday, September 20th.

Set Scores

S1: Fitch 25 – 10 W.R.

S2: Fitch 25 – 17 W.R.

S3: Fitch 25 – 17 W.R.

Match: Fitch 3 – 0 W.R.

Stats (Austintown)

Jocelyn Jourdan : 19 Kills, 1 Ace, 3 Blocks, 16 Digs, 5 Receptions.

Afton Roby : 7 Kills, 1 Block, 3 Digs,

Kylie Folkwein : 6 Kills, 2 Aces, 13 Digs, 11 Receptions.

Jordan Binion : 5 Kills, 2 Blocks, 2 Digs,

Rylie Simons : 1 Kill, 2 Aces, 5 Digs, 41 Assists,

Julia Jordan : 3 Kills, 1 Block, 2 Digs,