KNIGHTS CONQUER ANOTHER BEAST

By Ty Bartell

AKRON OH- When it comes to volleyball in Northeast Ohio, there is plenty of talent to choose from.
With a plethora of competitive schools all of which can beat one another at any given time. Therefore, having a goose egg in the loss column this late in the season. Especially if you play the type of schedule The Archbishop Hoban Knights volleyball team has compiled together. Featuring multiple teams with state championship level talent, Hoban was rolling through them to the tune of a 14-0 record heading into Wednesday night. This time The Knights were hitting the road down to Stark County to do battle with The Leopards of Louisville High School.
A respectable 10-4 Leopards squad that also schedules independently and competitively meant it was going to be a fun match at hand.

Both teams were deadlocked in a close opening set, but it was Louisville feeling the home crowd advantage and riding that momentum to a thrilling 25-23 win in the opener. Now down a set, Hoban had all the pressure suddenly flipped onto themselves. The Knights responded though, getting the last laugh in another close set battle, capturing set two by a final of 25-21, knotting the match up at 1-1.

After capturing their first set win, like so many other times this season, Hoban got even better as the match waged on. Minimizing mistakes and maximizing the defensive effort, The Knights emphatically took set three 25-14! Showing a better effort in the fourth set, The Leopards were able to have a little more success against The Knights; however, it would not be enough as Hoban locked it down to win both the set 25-17 and the match 3-1!

Amber Watson, once again, led The Knights in kills with 19 and was set up primarily by Sophia Day who recorded 25 assists in the match. Macie Mintz led in two categories, both in digs with 28 and service points at 16. Ava Norton was also a force behind the service line, grabbing 4 aces. While the net defense was backed by the duo of Kathleen Jones and Bailey Prince who each had 3 blocks against The Leopards.

Hoban (15-0) will look to keep the streak rolling as they stay on the road and pay a visit to The Copley Indians (10-5) on Saturday, September 30th. Also on Saturday, Louisville (10-5) will look to get back to winning ways as they hit the road as well to do battle with The Lake Blue Streaks (3-10).