HOBAN PINKS OUT PERRY
By Ty Bartell
AKRON OH- As the fall sports season continues, many things around us begin to change. The air
becomes more brisk as a chill takes over, the leaves on trees begin to turn to their traditional autumn colors and the thought of snow slowly becomes more than just a thought. However, one thing that has not changed is The Archbishop Hoban Knights continuing their winningways on the volleyball court! Rolling into Tuesday evening with a perfect 13-0 record, Hoban was coming off an impressive 3-1 match win against The Independence Blue Devils, who have appeared in three of the last four state final fours, on Saturday!
Playing with a ton of confidence, The Knights returned home to welcome The Federal League’s own Massillon-Perry Panthers, who were sporting a respectable 9-5 record through tough competition.
The first match was a battle, one that saw The Panthers grab and hold an early advantage as both teams exchanged scores. Midway through the opening set is when the tables turned on Perry when Hoban locked it down on the defensive side and turned that defense into offense and quickly compiled a point swing and a lead for The Knights! Once taking the lead, Hoban would not let it go, despite The Panthers giving them a great fight till the end, it was Hoban who would win the opening set 25-22.
Being down 1-0 in sets, Perry opted to try and write a similar script in set two that featured a different ending. The Panthers stuck to that script early, once again capturing a multiple point advantage in the beginning portions of set two. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Knights responded in similar fashion to the set previous by getting on the comeback trail, cutting into the deficit and eventually overtaking Perry with the 25-17 set two victory. Set three was not much different in terms of score. Both teams put up a good battle, but Hoban was just too much for Perry on Tuesday, claiming the straight set sweep with the 25-19 win in set three.
The lone senior, Sophia Day got it done both on the floor and behind the service line, racking up 23 assists to go with 3 aces on the night! Macie Mintz also put in the work defensively on the floor and on the serve, recording 22 digs and 13 service points to lead her team in both categories. Amber Watson was the kill leader again, racking up 18 in the win. While Bailey Prince fortified the net with her 2 blocks on Monday night.
Hoban (14-0) will take their undefeated streak back on the road where they will travel down to Stark County in a battle with The Louisville Leopards (10-4) on Wednesday, September 27th. Perry (9-6) will look to get back to winning ways with a conference road matchup against GlenOak (8-6) on Thursday, September 28th. Interviews with Players of the Match Amber Watson and Skylar Schmidt, plus the coaches interview with Head Coach Jim Maloof and Assistant Coach Hailey Bell can be found below!
