.png)
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
This time the Rochester volleyball team finished, and they earned their first win in a best-of-five match and their first Three Rivers Conference win in the process.
Audrey Bolinger had 10 kills, two aces and a block, and freshman setter Aubrey Wilson had six kills, three aces, two blocks, 20 assists and 11 digs as the Lady Zs beat Peru 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 Thursday.
Wilson’s fellow freshman Brailyn Hunter belted six kills from the outside, and Avarie Montel had three blocks.
Freshman Logyn Honkomp had 16 digs and 19 serves received, and junior libero Rylee Clevenger had 13 digs and 16 serves received. Darah Strasser had nine digs and 12 serves received while playing a six-rotation role.
“Amazing,” Clevenger said of the locker room mood. “We finally got to scream our heads off after a huge win, especially since it’s conference.”
Rochester coach Laneia Strasser noted how well the team pulled through during tough times. The Lady Zs won four of the last five points in the first set after Peru even the set at 21. The run started on a Mia Howdeshell kill, followed by a Montel stuff block and a Howdeshell ace. Darah Strasser went long on a kill attempt, but a Peru net violation closed it out.
Rochester led 15-14 in the second set before closing on a 10-2 run, which included a Hunter kill, a Peru net violation, a Wilson service winner and another Hunter kill.
Two strong Wilson serves and a deep tip to the corner from Darah Strasser on match point closed it out.
“We figured out how to finish it tonight,” coach Strasser said. “I always say in order to finish it, every player on the court has to guarantee a perfect pass, an awesome set, and you’re just going to connect with the hit, and that’s the easiest way to finish something. The more of those you have, the more you win.”
Playing two days after Lewis Cass swept them in their TRC opener, Rochester ran slides and quicks, spreading out the width of the court to create attacking avenues for Bolinger, Hunter and Darah Strasser. Coach Strasser said that is a function of better passing and staying in system.
At one point during a long rally in the third set, Peru was so transfixed about where Wilson was going to deliver the ball that she feathered a dump that dropped in the middle of the court on the other side, eliciting a smile from Wilson.
Coach Strasser said the team needed it for its confidence. Its only previous win came over Delphi at the Tomahawk Invitational at North Miami on Aug. 19, but that came in a best-of-three match.
“Exciting, you know,” Strasser said. “We needed that win. Morale was a little low. They worked their butts off, so they needed the reward for working their butts off. They hit it hard in practice, and it just wasn’t happening when we were connecting all together, and today it all connected together.”
The back row would appear to have stabilized with Honkomp, Clevenger and Mia Howdeshell joining Darah Strasser. Rochester needed a new libero after the graduation of Rily Holloway.
“It definitely matters to me,” Clevenger said when asked if it matters that she is the libero. “Because I’m talking more, I’ve had better chances to get a lot of touches, I’m more aggressive. It’s exciting. … It’s way different playing JV libero from varsity libero, but I’ve gotten a lot more confidence.”
Rochester also won the JV match 25-8, 25-24.
Rochester def. Peru, 25-22, 25-16, 25-21
Rochester stats
Brailyn Hunter – 6 kills, 3 digs; Darah Strasser – 3 kills, 1 block, 9 digs, 1 assist, 12 serves received; Aubrey Wilson – 6 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks, 11 digs, 20 assists; Avarie Montel – 1 kill, 3 blocks; Mia Howdeshell – 1 kill, 1 ace, 5 digs, 5 serves received; Audrey Bolinger – 10 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 1 dig; Logyn Honkomp – 1 ace, 16 digs, 2 assists, 19 serves received; Ella Hake – 1 block, 6 digs; Rylee Clevenger – 13 digs, 2 assists, 16 serves received
Comments