Big Red Earns Season Sweep Of Crusaders
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STEUBENVILLE -- Controlling the momentum swings in a volleyball match can be key. The Big Red volleyball team was able to do just that Thursday night to finish a city rivalry sweep.
After getting down big in the first set against Catholic Central, Big Red battled back. Though they were not able to take the set, the momentum they started building carried over and from there, and Steubenville won the final three-straight sets to earn a season sweep of the Crusaders.
“We settled down and controlled the momentum,” Big Red head coach Logan Colabella said. “We did not let the long runs happen, we were able to figure out what we needed to do to stop the rallies and go on a couple of nice runs of our own.
“I’m just really proud of the girls for pulling it together and not letting the first set take the momentum away, they settled in and played really hard. Credit to Central, they played really hard, too, and we knew they were going to make us need to play our best.
“It’s always a fun match to play them, I went to Central and am good friends with their coach. The girls all know each other and want to win this one. It’s always fun for them to play this game and it’s usually a good game. I’m happy for the girls to get the win.”
After Central won the opening set 25-22, Big Red won the final three by scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-11, putting together a big run of their own in each.
The first set was 12-5 and 22-15 Crusaders before Big Red closed within a point late. After Central rallied to tie the second set at 11-all, Big Red went on an 11-0 run and seemed to be in control from there. Big Red closed the third and fourth set wins with 10-1 runs after the key 11-0 run put them in control of the second.
“I’ve said it a lot, these girls don’t give up. They could have easily gotten down when they fell behind in the first set, but they didn’t do that,” Colabella said. “The first set we were making some self-inflicted mistakes, once they settled down, they got on a roll and really kept the momentum.”
Similar to their match against Weir High on Tuesday, Central (7-7) got off to a good start and at times had the momentum, but just seemed to struggle to get it back once Big Red (9-5) had captured it.
“I’m happy with our energy, especially to stat the match,” Central head coach Megan Lloyd said. “We will continue to work on playing the small game to our advantage. It was another night of momentum swings and eventually things will swing our way.”
For the hosts, A’rya Bigsby tallied 21 kills, three aces and a block, Aubrey Slussar recorded 22 assists, three kills and two aces, Addy Snyder tallied 11 kills, eight digs, five blocks and an ace, Phynyx Fleming finished with five kills, four blocks and an ace, Kaylee Sustik recorded 19 digs and Addison Luther finished with three blocks.
Central was led by Avi Bresssler with 28 assists and seven digs, Regan Meek with 12 kills, seven digs and an ace, Maddie McEndree with seven digs and five kills, Gianna Lemal with three blocks, two kills, an ace and a dig and Mara Delaney with three digs and two kills.
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Catholic Central: Visits Bellaire on Tuesday.
Big Red: Travels to John Marshall on Monday.