VIKINGS REIGN SUPREME

LIBERTY OH- LaBrae and Liberty crossed paths for the second time this season on the hardwood. They went the distance the first time around and we were all expecting a repeat of the first performance. That would not be the case as fatigue has finally caught up with the Leopards this season. An onslaught of games going four and five sets seems like it has finally started to wear on Liberty who had a lot of simple mistakes that cost them a chance at victory in Thursday nights meeting. LaBrae had a few mistakes of their own, but they played a solid overall match, and their defensive abilities allowed them to stay put and have Liberty make the mistakes to help them along on their biggest runs of the night.

Set one was controlled by the Vikings the whole way through as Taylor Burns and Rylee McDonough swarmed the net. After a brief back and forth at the start of the set the Vikings took off and won set one 25-11. Set’s two and three would not be so easy as the two squads swapped the lead over and over as Liberty stormed back from down six to take the lead 23-21, but the Vikings would end the set on a 4-0 run to make a comeback of their own to win set two. Set three became equally challenging for both teams as they both were feeling the wear and tear of such a hard-fought battle. Once more they would share the lead, but ultimately it was the Vikings who were able to get the last point of the net. Thanks to great effort all around LaBrae won set three 25-23. Taylor Burns was named player of the game.

LaBrae moves up to (10-5) on the season after Thursday’s victory and they will attempt to put together a three-game winning streak as they play host to the (15-1) Mineral Ridge Rams at home on Monday. Liberty falls back to .500 on the season with their record now at (8-8) and they will look towards the weekend for some much needed rest and relaxation before going on the road Monday against (13-4) Western Reserve.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna