Bellevue picks up key Lake win over Perkins

BELLEVUE — The pendulum was going to swing regardless. After Bellevue fended off Perkins in the second set and evened the match, the Lady Red snatched all of the momentum by winning the third set. Bellevue carried that into the fourth set and put the match away, topping the Pirates 20-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 in a key Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division victory Thursday. The Lady Red improved to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the league while Perkins dropped to 5-5, 2-1. It is a four-way tie atop the league standings as Norwalk (5-4, 2-1) and Tiffin Columbian (6-4, 2-1) each also have one league loss. "Our league is extremely competitive," Bellevue coach Liana Petitti said. "That's a great thing because it means we're playing really hard to get wins and it means a lot when we do get a win. I'm confident in us the rest of the way here. I'm glad we got a win here." Tied at a set apiece, Bellevue won six straight points to go up 6-1 early in the third set. That set the tone for the third set as Perkins never led again. Finley LaPata smacked a kill and served up an ace to make it 9-5 and later, kills from Kaitlyn Turinsky and LaPata extended the margin to 16-12. The Pirates scored back-to-back points out of a timeout, but Calie Cramer's kill started a run of four straight points for Bellevue. Two aces from Ellie Freitag capped the run and later, Turinsky tallied a kill and block to put the Lady Red up 2-1. "It was sticking to what we know," said Petitti of the key to the third set. "Our defensive players have been our best. They have been the heart of our team and we had a heart-to-heart there. We had to do what we've done. I think it was encouraging them and encouraging everybody to keep working." The fourth set was played pretty closely. Bellevue led 8-5 early, but Perkins rallied to seize a brief 10-9 advantage. Ahead just 17-16, the Lady Red won the next five points to put a stranglehold on the set. Hallie McCarthy smacked a kill before LaPata served up an ace. One final kill from Turinsky gave Bellevue the much-needed win. "It was our consistency," said Perkins coach Brandon Duvall of his team's downfall. "Bellevue is good and they have a lot of tough players. We've proven that not only can we keep up with them, we can beat them. The consistency of the game is important. We came out in the second set completely flat." Perkins played with a lot of energy early on, trailing just briefly in the opening set. The Pirates were able to win points in bunches and went up 14-9 after a kill from Ferrell Coleman and ace by Micah Slay. Perkins kept the Lady Red at bay and kills from Addi Mason and Slay gave the Pirates the early lead. "We kind of beat ourselves that first set," Petitti said. "We had several serves in the middle of the net and several errors. They had some great swings, but we beat ourselves." Bellevue responded in Set 2, racing out to a 5-0 lead and later making it 9-3 after a kill and ace from Cramer. The Lady Red led 19-14 later, but Perkins rallied. The Pirates put a run together and took a 22-21 lead after a hitting error by Bellevue. But, the Lady Red finished strong. Kills from Turinsky and Cramer gave Bellevue a 23-22 edge. Two crucial errors by the Pirates followed and the match was a set apiece. Instead of possibly being up 2-0, Perkins had to settle for a tie after two sets. "That was enormous," Duvall said. "That was the hard part. We know what we've got and we know what we're capable of. The teams we're playing are giving us a lot of breaks. We have to be able to sustain throughout the entire match. "Our hitters have to stay focused on what has been our successes." Slay finished with 16 kills while Coleman registered 13 kills and five blocks. Braelyn Davie registered 42 assists, Avery Maldonado picked up 26 digs and Viera Walker added 21 digs. "The best part about this, and I want to instill it into the girls, is we're in a very tough league," Duvall said. "You have to fight every single night. We have no choice but to go out and bring our best. Otherwise, we're going to get beat. It's character building for our team." LaPata (four aces) finished with 17 kills and 15 digs while Turinsky lined 12 kills. Freitag recorded 33 assists and 15 digs while Kate Baptista had 14 digs and four aces. Bellevue is 5-0 since losing a 2-0 lead against Columbian last week. The Lady Red won the Crestline Invitational before wins over Vermilion and Perkins this week. "This team has phenomenal chemistry," Petitti said. "We have a great bond. I love these girls and they love each other. No one wanted to lose the Columbian game and that match stung. Those hurt the most because you're in control and then all of a sudden you can't recoup. "I think not wanting to feel that again and reminding ourselves who we are, that put us back to where we were."