KNIGHTS HEAD TO POSTSEASON UNBEATEN

By Ty Bartell

GIRARD OH- It has been needless to say, but The Archbishop Hoban Knights volleyball team has been
on an impressive roll! Undefeated this season against a who’s who of regional opponents all with one goal in mind, get to the state final four. Big goals for a talented team, but the most important thing is the confidence that they have not only in themselves, but one another as teammates and friends. Hoban hit the road on Thursday night for a matchup with The Girard Indians for the second time in as many years. In last year’s contest, The Indians took a thrilling five set match from The Knights 3-2, hoping much of the same would replicate itself Thursday night and they can finally hang that first loss on Hoban.

Set one was a fun battle with both teams stopping at various scores, all tied up, along the way. Hoban would pull away with a key rally in the latter stages of the set, capitalizing on some key Girard mistakes, effectively taking the opening set 25-19. Coming out with a fury in set two, The Knight put the pedal to the metal while Girard had trouble getting out of their own way with some uncharacteristic mistakes. The Knights would take full advantage of the errors, blasting The Indians by a score of 25-8 in set two. Leading two sets to none on the road, Hoban was sitting in the driver seat, looking for match win number 20. Girard showed a similar type of fight and intensity as the first set, capturing an early 9-3 lead. However, as Hoban has done some many times this season, they adjusted and mounted a comeback, duplicating the score of the first set with a 25-19 set three victory.

Kathleen “the Dream” Jones got it done behind the service line with 16 service points and 3 aces in the match. Meanwhile, outside hitter Amber Watson led the Knights in kills with 12. The lone senior Sophia Day came one dig shy of a double-double, notching 16 assists and 9 digs in the win. While Hoban used a collective team effort to seal up the net with five different Knights each recording a block during the match!

On the other side, Girard was led by Bree Latell with 7 kills and 7 service points. Bailey Walters led The Indians with 14 assists while pitching in an ace and 5 digs. Alexis Pieton and Nico Cochran each helped the net defense with 2 blocks a piece, while Cochran also contributed with 5 digs.

The win for Hoban (20-0) keeps their undefeated season alive as they have one more regular season matchup where they will stay on the road to meet Cuyahoga-Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) (18-2) on Saturday, October 14th. Meanwhile, Girard (16-6) will now look ahead to the tournament where they will host Northeast 8 conference opponent The Niles Red Dragons (1-17) on Wednesday, October 17th.

Game Photos Can Be Found HERE https://ysn.smugmug.com/10-12-vb-hoban-girard/10-12-vb-girard-hoban