RIDGE TAKES SHOWDOWN OF NUMBER ONE SEEDS
CORTLAND OH- It was a heavyweight match up set up for Wednesday night between Mineral Ridge and Lakeview, and it did not disappoint. Mineral Ridge took a back and forth affair in 5 sets (21-25 26-24 20-25 25-20 15-13).
It took each team about a set to shake off nerves in set one, as they traded errors back and forth. Lakeview was able to come up with key plays down the stretch to escape with the set 25-21.
In set two trailing 23-24 Mineral Ridge Head coach Ron Lesko made a gutsy decision bringing in Aliyah Whitaker cold off the bench to serve for senior Jersey Tucker. It worked out nicely for the Rams as Whitaker served up clutch points to help Ridge even the match up at 1-1 with a 26-24 victory in set 2.
Lakeview responded quickly out of the gates jumping out to a 4-0 lead in set 3. Maggie Pavlansky served up the rally getting Ridge out of system. Another back and forth set eventually went to the Bulldogs and gave them a 2-1 lead in the match.
Serving errors were a problem all night for Lakeview, and they really showed up in set 4. Ridge would use it to lead most of the set and hold off a late Lakeview push to take set 4 25-20 and force a set 5.
Lakeview once again jumped out to a strong lead coming off of losing a set. The Bulldogs scored the first 3 points and led 4-1. They kept that lead all the way up to 13-9. Then, Ridge senior setter Danielle Aulet stepped up with huge serves to help the Rams end the set, and the match on a 6-0 run to win set 5 15-13.
The Rams were led by Katelyn Lesko who finished with an impressive double double with 22 kills, and 24 digs. Danielle Aulet set up 41 assists on the night, and also totaled 21 digs to complete a double double herself. She also served up 5 aces. Morgan Sigley finished with 7 kills.
Tara Lytle led the Bulldogs with 11 kills . She also had 3 blocks, and 3 aces. Pavlansky set up 25 assists, and also served 3 aces. Brooke Schneider led in digs with 23.
Mineral Ridge closes out the season on Thursday hosting Brookfield. Lakeview now awaits tournament action where they are the 1 seed and will host the winner of Southeast vs Mogadore Field.
