Monroeville opens with 4-0 mark at Summer Spiketacular

SANDUSKY — Monroeville is off to a good start. The Eagles, Firelands Conference and district champions last year, went 4-0 on the first day of the second volleyball Summer Spiketacular on Monday at Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky. "I think our kids came out and played really well today," Monroeville coach Kendra Snook said. "I told the kids I was really proud of how they fought today. Our pool was extremely tough and they were up for the challenge. At times, things looked ugly like it is supposed to in July. "At times, we were also all clicking. We did a lot of really good things for July." Monroeville opened with a three-set win over Brecksville. The Eagles trailed 3-1 early in Set 3 before running away with the set. Monroeville used a 13-1 run to go up 14-4. A kill from setter Addison Lyons sealed the win for the Eagles. "We just played Friday and Saturday against these bigger schools," Snook said. "I think we're starting to get comfortable playing with each other again. Yes, most of them are back from a veteran squad. I totally get that. They should be comfortable playing, but when you're playing club with different kids all winter, we worked out a little bit of that chemistry Friday and Saturday." Facing top-notch competition throughout, Monroeville then slugged past recent rival New Bremen. The Eagles lost five-set state semifinal contests to New Bremen in 2018 and 2019 before dropping the Division IV state championship match to the Cardinals in 2022. This time, Monroeville was in control for most of the match. New Bremen's early lead in Set 1 was short lived before the Eagles won points in bunches to go up 14-9. The advantage reached 21-15 before the Cardinals cut within 21-19, but a couple of serving errors allowed Monroeville to take the opening set 25-22. New Bremen played with the lead for the first half of Set 2 before the Eagles surged away. Down 15-13, Monroeville used a 7-1 run to go up 20-16 and didn't trail again. Alexa Adams pounded two kills from there to help the Eagles pick up the win. "I thought all of our kids played well," Snook said. "I thought our block did a nice job. Our setters did a nice job of getting the ball to all of our hitters. Defensively, along with our serve receive, we were pretty spot on most of the day. That allows us to win that serve and serve receive game and be successful." Monroeville had to play from behind in its third match. The Eagles dropped the opening set against Wheelersburg before rallying for a 25-19 win in Set 2 on the strength of a Madi Reiber kill. In the third set, Monroeville was ahead just 6-5 before winning the next five points. The Eagles fended off the Pirates from there, taking the third set 15-10. Once the pools were reset, Monroeville opened the second round against Bellevue, a team it has faced in the regular season over the past many years. The Eagles were all business, sprinting out to a 10-3 lead. Monroeville was able to bounce the ball around big hitters like Alexa Adams, Ady Adams, Reiber and Riley Platte to keep the Lady Red off balance. The Eagles took advantage of some Bellevue errors to pile on the lead, as two miscues by the Lady Red gave Monroeville the opening set 25-11. Bellevue played tougher early in the second set as the Eagles led 11-9 before racing away. Monroeville strung together a 14-3 run the rest of the way, capped on a kill from Lyons to win the set 25-12 and finish the day 4-0. "I haven't seen the other two teams in the pool," said Snook of Triway and Marlington. "But I told the kids that now that you're in your second pool, everyone is a top team from the first pool. Every match is going to be tough. "Our goal isn't necessarily to win the tournament, but our goal is to compete and get better. Right now, that's what we're doing." Tired Huron finishes 3-1 The Tigers had to dig deep against New Lexington, but were able to do it, picking up a key 25-20, 23-25, 15-12 win. Huron trailed 11-10 in Set 3 before finishing strong. After tying the set, a block from the Tigers and error by New Lexington gave Huron a two-point cushion. The Tigers also won the final two points to end a long day. "They're showing me a little bit of character there," Huron coach Don Wood said. "But I think we're still putting ourselves in some bad situations. Every match at the net is going to be long." Huron had to come from behind early against Teays Valley in its first match. After dropping the opening set 25-22, the Tigers answered with a dominant 25-13 win in Set 2. In Set 3, Teays Valley led 7-5 before Huron tied the set at 8. The Tigers kept the momentum going and went up 12-8. Later, a four-hit error on Teays Valley and kill from Mya Smith gave Huron the win. Smith, along with Maggie Orzech and Ava Trevino, had big hitting days for the Tigers. "I saw us playing some very scrappy defense earlier in the day," Wood said. "There were some things I wanted to see, but I think we're hitting the wall a little bit. We've played seven out of the last eight days. We're trying to power through it and stay disciplined. "We need to get some energy." Huron added a win over Ayersville before losing to Copley. The Tigers face Norwalk and St. Henry in two more pool play matches Tuesday before the tournament bracket begins. "It's different for each kid," said Wood of finding renewed energy for another long day. "You have to find it within yourself to come out and give max effort even though you know you're tired and you're sore. It's a little different for each person. "It'll be interesting to see who is able to do that and how they do it." Norwalk goes 2-2 The Truckers were hanging right there with St. Henry. Norwalk raced out to a 7-1 lead early in Set 3, but the Redskins rallied to top the Truckers, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12. After being down by six, St. Henry used a timeout and answered with the next six points to tie the set. The Redskins kept it going and surged ahead 12-9 before Norwalk used a timeout. The Truckers were able to get within 12-11, but three of the next three points went to St. Henry as Norwalk dropped to 2-2 on the day. "It's fun," said Norwalk coach Sarah Kipp of the atmosphere late. "That's why you come to events like this — to play teams like that. In what world are we going to see St. Henry on our schedule? They're such a great team from such a great volleyball area. "To come and compete, I'm proud of our kids showing that." Norwalk opened the day with a dominant 25-14, 25-13 win over Indian Lake. The Truckers trailed briefly, but used a run of five straight points to open a 14-7 lead. Norwalk was able to get hitters like Ainslee King, Maddie Gamble and Sydney Moehlman going early. A kill and ace from Gamble helped Norwalk seal the opening set. Nine straight points from the Truckers in Set 2 put Norwalk in control quickly. The Truckers added a 7-0 run late in the set en route to the victory. "This whole event is about getting kids on the floor and watching things happen," Kipp said. "We're really looking for our kids to compete throughout, even when times get tough and you're down. You have to mentally battle back in and I'm seeing my kids do that. Overall throughout the day, I'm incredibly happy." Norwalk added a dominant win over Memorial before dropping its final pool play game against Bay. The Truckers face Huron and New Lexington in the redrawn pools Tuesday. "We want to see the no quit," Kipp said. "I think we're seeing that more and more as kids settle into positions. The kids are finding their way and they're gaining confidence. That drives them to compete. We want to see them compete throughout." Bellevue plays well, finishes 2-2 Lady Red coach Liana Petitti likes what she saw. Bellevue had a pair of tough three-set matches, winning one and losing one. The Lady Red competed with a veteran and tough Monroeville squad. "I was honestly impressed with us for the most part," Petitti said. "We played really gritty and tough. We played a really good match against Marlington, especially for being undersized. Our defense looked really great at times. "We had a lot of fresh players in the back row and it's nice to watch them adjust with each other and work through that as the day went on." The Lady Red were on the wrong end of a tight match as Heritage slipped past Bellevue 18-25, 25-22, 15-13. After losing to Marlington, Bellevue was able to beat Defiance in three sets, 25-21, 18-25, 16-14. "It was extremely back and forth and especially tight," Petitti said. "There were chances for both teams to win. We were able to grab it, so it was nice to see us fight through that." Petitti was happy with the play of freshman Calie Cramer, who Petitti said is finding her own way and is very coachable. The Lady Red weren't able to get things going against Monroeville, falling 25-11, 25-12. "They're a very disciplined team," Petitti said. "In that first set, we made a ton of unforced errors. Against them, you just can't do that. They need to earn their points because they're not going to give up very many." St. Paul winless so far The Flyers found themselves facing a much bigger Brecksville after the pools were redrawn. St. Paul was inches from the win, but the Bees squeaked out a 25-23, 23-25, 15-12 win. The Flyers led 11-10 in Set 3, but Brecksville ended the match on a 5-1 run. St. Paul opened with losses to Triway, GlenOak and Meadowbrook. The Flyers played well early against Meadowbrook, but couldn't quite grab the first set, falling 25-21. St. Paul wasn't able to keep it going, never getting its footing in Set 2. Meadowbrook raced out to an 11-1 lead, winning the set 25-10.