Lake-leading Bellevue nips Norwalk in 3 sets

NORWALK — Not much separated Bellevue and Norwalk on Tuesday. In a match featuring two of the three Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division teams entering the evening with one league loss, there were 35 ties and 17 lead changes. Bellevue made the most of big points throughout the match, slipping past Norwalk 25-23, 25-23, 25-22 in a key league contest. "When you have good teams playing against each other and playing gritty, that is what's going to happen," Bellevue coach Liana Petitti said. "It was awesome. The difference for us was we were together and we played hard. We wanted it and they stuck to their jobs. They did what we told them to do." In Set 1, there were 12 ties and six lead changes. Bellevue (14-3, 4-1 SBC Lake) led most of the set, but Norwalk (8-6, 3-2) surged ahead 23-21 after a service ace from Erica Tyler and kill by Maddie Gamble. Bellevue used a timeout and responded. Mazie Gracemyer smacked a kill before a block by Calie Cramer tied the set. Gracemyer lined another kill and a double hit error on Norwalk gave the Lady Red the opening set. "One of our goals this year is to win the first set of every match," Petitti said. "I think we've done that almost every match except one or two. That's been a huge for us. We've talked about focus, fun, finish. We have to stay on track for what we're doing, have fun doing it and finish the set. I was proud of them for doing that." Set 2 was tight as well with 11 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points the entire set, but Bellevue was able to build that margin a few times late, including 20-17 and 23-20. Norwalk got as close as 24-23 on a kill from Ainslee King, but a kill by Hallie McCarthy put Bellevue up 2-0. "They were hungry and I definitely did not see that from my kids like we needed to," Norwalk coach Sarah Kipp said. "That was match 13 for us and 17 for them. At this point, that could make a big difference — more time and experience on the floor. I think it truly comes down to the fact that their kids were hungry and wanted that win." The Truckers played with the lead most of the third set. Bellevue didn't take the lead for good until it used a 6-1 run to go up 23-20. Norwalk got within 24-22 on a block by King, but Kaitlyn Turinsky clobbered a kill to finish off the win. "I called timeout and talked about controlling what we were doing," said Petitti of late in the third set. "I think we went out there a little bit lackadaisical and a little unfocused on what we were doing. I think we got a little sloppy and started getting away from the things we were doing to win the match. We had to stay focused and finish the set. It wasn't won yet." Sydney Moehlman led Norwalk with nine kills while Gamble lined six kills. Sawyer Wineman topped the Truckers' defense with 30 digs, Tyler recorded 27 assists and 14 digs and Gamble contributed 21 digs. Lola Schlotterer added 13 digs for Norwalk, which opens the second round of SBC Lake play Thursday against Sandusky. "Momentum is a funny thing," Kipp said. "Bellevue grabbed it at key moments and pushed through those big moments and came out on top. We weren't able to pull ourselves off the ropes and fight back." LaPata (12 digs) and Turinsky each tallied 10 kills while Gracemyer and Cramer both lined six kills for Bellevue. Ellie Freitag registered 23 assists for the Lady Red. Holly Caranfa added 15 assists and Kate Baptista led the defense with 19 digs. Columbian (10-5, 4-1) also has one league loss. Bellevue hosts the Tornadoes next week after blowing a 2-0 lead earlier this season against them. "We haven't put ourselves in this good of a position in my previous two seasons here," Petitti said. "There's a lot more to go. We have Norwalk and Tiffin Columbian again. We're anxious to get back to that match. We're staying focused on the goals and staying stronger. Our conference is super tough. You never know what's going to happen on a given night."