John Marshall Debuts With Sweep Of Brooke
Trending
MOUNDSVILLE - Wednesday night's high school volleyball match between W.Va. Class AAA rivals Brooke and John Marshall might have been a season-opener, but one team looked in mid-season form while the other didn't.
The homestanding Monarchs, who are coming off of a 2025 campaign that saw them advance to the state tournament, cruised to a 25-10, 25-8, 25-16 sweep of the Bruins in a match that took a mere 45 minutes of actual time.
While John Marshall played very well, head coach Chelsea Eikleberry said there's still room for improvement.
"One day at a time that's all we can do," she beamed. "The girls were excited and wanted to get this first game of the season under their belts. We play at Oak Glen (in a tournament) this weekend, so we know we have to work on some things in practice on Thursday and Friday."
The teams were deadlocked at 3 early in the first set, but John Marshall used its superior height advantage at the net and some lights-out serving to pull away with seven consecutive points for a 10-3 lead.
Brooke made it 10-6 but another 7-0 surge bumped the margin to 19-6. A block by Gracen Chavanak sealed the deal.
An early 8-0 run to start the second set got the Monarchs off to a flying start and they continued to soar behind the net play of Isla Urbanek, Sarah Naome, Paislee Babiczuk and Chavanak.
The foursome combined for 26 kills, with Babiczuk leading the way with nine. Naome added seven and Urbanek five.
"We were very aggressive at the net, which is always a good thing," Eikleberry noted. "Our front rows played very well tonight."
The 6-3 Babiczuk was a force with several blocks.
"She's a beast. She's a great all-around athlete and absorbs everything we tell her," Eikleberry said of the junior. "Every day she shows up and wants to know what she can do to improve and, as a coach, that's all you ask for. She's also a great all-around person."
John Marshall also recorded 15 service aces, with Chavanak pacing the team with half-a-dozen. Bre Defibaugh added five.
"Our serving was really good," Eikleberry continued.
Not much went right for the youthful Bruins.
"We are a very young team," Brooke head coach Dee Parr allowed. "They have a lot of talent. We are just trying to figure out the right combination to put them all out on the floor. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores."
Parr did say the next time the two meet will be a different Bruin team.
"It was a tough opener. They beat us in the regional final last year to go to Charleston, but we will see them again and we will be better when we see them again."
Eikleberry was pleased with the poise her team played with.
"I told the girls that we play one point at a time. That's all you can do. If you make a mistake, forget about it and move on to the next point," she added. "I'm really pleased with the girls. They played very well tonight."
Eikleberry also gave a shout out to the crowd, especially the vocal student section.
"It was nice to see the big crowd. The girls feed off of that emotion."