.png)
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
From the 7-0 start to the match to the 7-0 ending to the second game to the 5-0 start to the third game, the Rochester volleyball team continued their winning ways against North Miami in a Class 2A, Sectional 36 quarterfinal at the RHS gym Thursday.
All the work in practice had paid off at the start of the most important part of the season.
Rochester won 25-9, 25-17, 25-12 to improve to 13-18. Rochester will next play Winamac, who received a bye, in the semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday.
North Miami finished 15-17. They finished the season on a five-match losing streak, which also included a regular season loss to the Lady Zs in three on Sept. 22.
Volleyball historical records are unreliable, but it’s believed to be at least a decade since North Miami has beaten Rochester.
Kennedy Leap led Rochester with seven kills, and Alexa Kouskousakis and Audrey Bolinger had four kills each. Rochester had an 8-5 advantage in aces, and Kylie Coleman had five of those, including two as part of the 7-0 match-opening run.
Rily Holloway had 11 digs and seven serves received and led the team in both.
“It was a lot better than it has been the last couple of matches that we’ve had,” Rochester coach Erin Leap said of the serve receive. “And we have. We’ve been drilling it every practice to the point where I’m sure they’re sick of it. But that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Kouskousakis also had eight digs and eight assists. Lillee Lett had seven digs and seven assists.
“I just think being able to see everything just fall into place,” Lett replied when asked what was the most exciting part of the match. “We’ve been really working on our energy and our serve receive, and just to see all those hours of practice get put into one game was just really fun to watch.”
Lett and Kouskousakis are both setters in Rochester’s two-setter system. Lett, a sophomore in her first year on the varsity, had never been a setter prior to this year.
“She’s been doing this way longer than I have, so I look up to her,” Lett said of playing with Kouskousakis, an all-Three Rivers Conference player last year. “It’s been really fun to play a new position and helping other people. … I think I get to see the court from a different perspective, and I can see the way things work. Everything has to be set up perfectly for it to work.”
Rochester trailed 12-9 in Game 2 but inched ahead 18-17 and then scored the final seven points with Kouskousakis serving.
Coleman started the run with a kill. North Miami freshman Grace Sailors was called for a net violation on her follow through on a swing. Joey Witmeyer’s kill attempt went into the net, which made it 21-17 and led to a timeout from North Miami coach Brianne Chumbley.
Another point of emphasis for Rochester had been hitting efficiency, according to coach Leap. They kept their attacks in play for much of the night while North Miami struggled.
“I just think they had an off-night,” coach Leap said. “I know they’ve got some good hitters on their team. Obviously, we’ve been watching film on them, so I know that they have good hitters. We kept them out of system tonight, where they couldn’t execute a whole lot.”
Astella Fisher missed long on an attack and then was called for a double hit to make it 23-17. A Lett kill and a Kouskousakis ace closed out the game.
Leap had two kills, including one on an overpass, that led to the quick start to Game 3.
“She was blocking all of us at practice when we were hitting,” Lett recalled. “She’s been like a blocking machine this past week. It was just nice to see her do that in a game.”
Leading 18-11 in Game 3, the Lady Zs finished on a 7-1 run. Coleman had a kill, and Leap had a tip, a kill and a stuff block to close it out.
Rochester def. North Miami, 25-9, 25-17, 25-12
Rochester stats
Kylie Coleman – 3 kills, 5 aces, 4 digs, 2 serves received; Kennedy Leap – 7 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 1 dig; Kylee Freant – 1 kill, 1 ace, 2 digs, 3 serves received; Alexa Kouskousakis – 4 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 8 digs, 8 digs, 4 serves received; Lillee Lett – 3 kills, 7 digs, 7 assists, 3 serves received; Audrey Bolinger – 4 kills, 1 block; Rily Holloway – 11 digs, 7 serves received; Darah Strasser – 6 digs, 1 assist, 5 serves received; Mia Howdeshell – 2 digs, 1 assist, 4 serves received; Rylee Clevenger – 1 serve received
Kommentare