Ottawa-Glandorf’s Addy Bellman (left) and Kaitlyn Kimmet go up to block a spike by Kenton’s Emily Pees during Thursday night’s match at Ottawa-Glandorf.
OTTAWA — The Ottawa-Glandorf volleyball team has owned Western Buckeye League foe Kenton since the 2007 season, sweeping the Wildcats every match up.
On a sweltering evening outside the Supreme Court of Robert J. Hermiller Gymnasium, the Titans were as torrid as the weather as they gained another sweep of the Wildcats 25-13, 25-16, 25-17.
“We have really been focusing on our side of the net and working on some team chemistry so tonight was definitely a step in the right direction in those areas” Titans coach Amber Miler said.
The Titans started off slowly, falling behind 4-1 on a service error. The Titans took the lead only to get to a 7-7 tie on another service miscues.
A Wildcat serving error gave the hosts the lead for good and eventually a 5-0 spurt put them up 14-8 as setter Addyson Bellman (35 assists) began finding lefty-hitting Sienna Fry (14 kills, 3 aces, 7 blocks) frequently. O-G kept pulling away and took set one as Fry served up three consecutive aces to finish off the set.
The early part of set two saw both teams struggling to find the mark and the score stood at 7-all. A kill by Katie Kaufman (7 kills, 4 blocks) gave Clara Wischmeyer the serve and six points later, the Titans led 14-7. Kenton struggled to get back in the set as the Titans went up two sets on a kill by Claudia Maag (4 aces, 3 kills, 9 digs).
After a brief 2-all tie, O-G took the lead for good on a Fry bomb and they steadily added to their edge, reaching 17-6 on a hitting error. The Wildcats began to rally, especially on a 7-point rally, four being on aces by Macee Hockathon. Once the Titans’ Kaitlyn Kimmet (5 kills, 2 blocks) stuffed a Kenton hit, that seemed to stifle their attack. The hosts scored the final three points, including a tip by Bellman on match point, to finish the sweep.
“Yes, a WBL win is great, honest it’s a great way to start the league season off winning in three sets, we’re so excited to get started in league play. Tuesday (3-0 loss to Leipsic) night opened up a lot of holes in our game. So yesterday, we did a lot of communication drills and just a lot of drills to work on are our team chemistry” Miller said.
Marly Buddelmeyer contributed seven kills to the Titans, along with three aces and 10 digs from Amerie Young and eight digs from Bailey Krouse.
“We came out with a lot of energy and focusing in on our side of the court and making good passes to each other. We are getting better, we have gotten these first few games out of the way and moving on to a better start,” senior Bailey Krouse said.
Kenton setter Emily Pees delivered 16 assists, Anna Coon five kills and Sadie Larrenbee four kills.
O-G moves to 2-3 on the season as it gets set for Wapakoneta next Thursday on the road.
Dave Boninsegna wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
