Lima Senior’s Matilda Nelson (7), Jurisha Houseworth (14) and Ti’ana Spivey defend against Bath’s Claire Foust during Saturday’s match at Bath.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
BATH TOWNSHIP — Bath found a way.
It seemed like whenever Lima Senior made a run, Bath managed to counter.
Bath finally put Lima Senior away in four sets Saturday, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23 – in a nonleague volleyball season-opener for both programs, played at Bath.
“Overall, I thought we played hard,” Bath head coach Michael Lawrence said. “We battled when we really needed to. Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job. Lima Senior is a good team.”
Each time Bath seemed to be in control, Lima Senior would come roaring back.
“Somehow, we found a way. … But we have to be able to finish,” Lawrence said. “I think that was part of the problem. We just couldn’t get those last couple points. We kind of let them hang around, just long enough, instead of being able to push through and win.”
In the first set, Lima Senior took the early lead, scoring the first two points. However, Bath had an answer as it claimed the lead, and never relinquished it.
Junior Claire Foust helped pave the way for Bath in the first set, as she had four blocks at the net and came away with four kills.
Foust ended the day with 12 kills, four blocks and five serving aces.
“She (Foust) is a huge part,” Lawrence said. “She’s definitely our biggest offensive gun. We need her to clearly step up, blocking-wise too. She has such a great reach. Offensively, she’s always going to be pretty solid.”
In the second set, Bath claimed the early lead. However, Lima Senior battled back, took the lead and held off Bath down the stretch for the hard-fought three-point victory.
Ti’ana Spivey led the Spartans in the second set with four kills and a serving ace. On the day, Spivey recorded seven kills.
In the third set, Lima Senior made several unforced errors, which helped lead to its eight-point loss.
The Wildcats scored the first six points in the third set. Lima Senior made a little run, but could not fully recover. Aniyah Fisher knocked down five shots near the net in that third set, and ended the day with 10 kills.
Bath trailed in the early part of the fourth set, but battled back to close out the match.
Foust recorded four kills in the fourth set, while teammate Claire Armentrout added three kills. Armentrout, a junior, ended the match with 10 kills.
Lawrence said there were some question marks, coming into Saturday’s match.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Lawrence said. “We had a few new faces. The core of our girls is back, but there are a few new ones.
“I liked how they played, for the most part. We had a few communication problems, but with it being the first game, that’s kind of expected. They played hard. Hopefully, we can figure out what we did right and wrong, and go back and improve a little bit more for the next one (match).”
Emma Hipsher had 16 digs for Lima Senior, while teammate Matilda Nelson recorded 14 digs.
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for The Lima News. Read The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
