Bellevue sweeps Polar Bears

CASTALIA — The chance was there for the taking.Margaretta had two chances to snatch the opening game from the reigning Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division champs, but Bellevue responded with five of the last six points in the game, and then rolled to a 27-25, 25-14, 25-13 victory over the Polar Bears."We had the momentum," Margaretta coach Sarah Kuns said. "If we would have won the first game, it would have been huge. That changes the momentum for what we were going for. It would have been a positive going into Game 2."A kill by Jayden Moore gave Margaretta (1-2) a 24-22 lead in the first game, but Bellevue surged from there. Two kills by Taylor Baxter sandwiched around a kill by Beyah Garcia gave the Lady Red game point and forced the Polar Bears into a timeout. A kill by Margaretta was answered by kills from Baxter and Garcia to give Bellevue the early lead."I like how we fought back in that first game," Lady Red coach Karen Irons said. "We were ahead and Margaretta came back. Claire (Turner) got back on the serving line and got us some key serves there."The momentum for Bellevue carried into Game 2. The teams played even over the first part of the game, but a string of eight straight points pushed the Lady Red ahead, 18-9. The run was carried off the serving of freshman Kailee Felder. She had three aces while Turner, also a freshman, and Molly Bullion each recorded a kill during the run."Kailee and Claire did well," Irons said. "I was pleased. They are still making freshmen mistakes, but they will continue to learn our system. Coming up from junior high is an adjustment."Devyne Eisenhauer blasted a kill to get Margaretta back on the board, but it did little to stop Bellevue. Bullion served up an ace, while Garcia and Felder put down kills to put the Lady Red comfortably ahead."We told our girls to just go out and do what they were taught to do," Kuns said. "We could not let Bellevue get into our head. We had it, but Bellevue got into our head."Bellevue continued to flex its muscles in the third game. The Lady Red raced out to a 6-1 lead after Baxter recorded a kill and block on consecutive points. Later, the lead blossomed to 12-4 after kills by Bullion, Baxter, and Felder.Margaretta could only get as close as six points the rest of the game at 15-9, but Bellevue was right there to win eight of the next nine points for a 23-10 lead. Garcia put down her fifth kill of the night, then blocked Eisenhauer to finish off the win for the Lady Red."I have a young group," Irons said. "We start two freshman, so it was good to get the first match out of the way."Margaretta had the advantage of playing two matches on Saturday, while it was the season-opener for Bellevue."I am sure the fact that they had two matches under their belt helped them," Irons said. "I was a little worried about that. You have scrimmages, but it is nothing like game situations."Margaretta could never get into much of a flow offensively. Eisenhauer tallied seven kills on 23 of 28 hitting. Moore added four kills on 17 of 21 hitting, while Mady Morris had eight assists. Kenna Stimmel added 16 digs."Nobody could hit the ball where they needed to," Kuns said. "Nobody could put the ball down. The hitters let it get to them."Baxter paced Bellevue with 18 kills and nine digs while Felder had 10 digs, six kills, and three aces. Bullion contributed 32 assists and 13 digs while Kami Hay added 13 digs. Turner (13 digs), Bullion, and Hay each served two aces."We finished in the second and third games," Irons said. "That is what I told them after the match, it was a good first match. We came out and got the first game and kept getting stronger and stronger."Bellevue volleyball players come together during the first day of practice on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019, at Bellevue High School.