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STEUBENVILLE -- Wins have been hard to come by for the Catholic Central volleyball team the last few weeks, and the Crusaders once again made it difficult on themselves against rival Madonna.
Catholic Central let a chance to sweep Madonna slip away in the third set, and the Crusaders found themselves down by six points in the fourth. Catholic Central regrouped and ended up rallying to win the set and match, 25-22, 25-9, 24-26, 25-19, Thursday night on senior night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.
"It is never easy," first-year Catholic Central (11-9) head coach Monica Fischer said.
The victory gave the Crusaders a season sweep of the Blue Dons.
After winning the third set, the Blue Dons led 9-3 in the fourth, but Madonna was unable to keep the momentum as the Crusaders came storming back and, thanks to a big run, the hosts were able to win the set and ultimately the match.
"I definitely think both teams were evenly matched," Madonna head coach Pat Kush said. "We made too many mistakes. We beat ourselves. We have not put a full game together yet.
"We had an injury. We had to switch our lineup around. Overall, we just shoot ourselves in the foot."
For Catholic Central, Anna Godich contributed seven kills, three aces, one block, 11 digs and 10 points; Cecilia Ivanac collected one kill, three aces, one block, three digs and three points; and Theresa Bahen tallied six kills, six aces, 22 digs and 20 points.
Also, Clara Symington ended up with 10 kills, one ace, 20 digs and five points; Katelynn Dorsey delivered two aces, 36 digs and seven points; and Adriana Lefever added six aces, 14 digs and 14 points. Edy Harold produced 10 kills, seven digs and three points; Jayda Jones chipped in with three kills, one block and five digs; and Gabby Kosegi finished with three digs.
For Madonna, Michaela Battista tallied 10 points, two aces and 10 digs; Anna Backel collected five points, 11 digs and two aces; and Jaedyn Kush scored eight points to go along with 17 digs and three aces.
Also, Addie Backel added three points and 11 assists; Maddie Daugherty delivered five points and 22 digs; and Marianna Rodriquez recorded five blocks and three kills. Brianna Glosser contributed three kills and three blocks; Carly Dowiak produced four kills and three blocks; and Nina Daugherty ended up with five digs.
The Crusaders let some match points slip away in the fourth before they were finally able to stick the nail into the coffin and defeat the Blue Dons.
"We were just able to attack the ball," Fischer said. "We were able to move it around. We were just able to adjust."
Catholic Central led Madonna 2-0 and a had a chance to serve for the match leading 24-23 in the third set only to see the serve go into the net and the Blue Dons ended up winning the set to stay alive in the match.
"That has been our theme all season," Coach Kush said. "We take teams down to the wire. We get the third set and we go to the fourth, but we do not finish. We will finish. We will finish, and once we do we are going to be an extremely difficult team to play."
The Crusaders have had difficulty recently finishing off matches. Catholic Central led rival Toronto, 1-0, and 2-1, Sept. 25 on the road only to see the Red Knights rally and win the match in five sets. The next night, Catholic Central led city-rival Big Red, 2-0, inside the Crimson Center only to see Big Red come back and win the match in five.
After losing the third set late and falling behind early in the fourth set, the Crusaders found themselves having flashbacks of their painful recent losses.
"It was definitely a deja vu moment," Fischer said. "I just encouraged them. I told them to finish and to work hard. We were able to get it done. It was our seniors' last home game, and I wanted to send them out with a win. I wanted to give them a good memory. I am proud we were able to push through and finish."
The first was back-and-forth. Catholic Central stepped up late in the set, and the Crusaders were able to win the set by three and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set belonged to Catholic Central. The hosts built a big lead and ended up cruising to a 16-point victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
"Catholic Central did not do anything different this year," Coach Kush said. "At points we moved well, and at other points we did not move well. We move well at times, and at other times we do not move well. We lose focus."
The Crusaders were on the verge of recording the sweep in the third set, but the Blue Dons refused to go away quietly into the October night. The serve into the net gave Madonna new life, and the visitors took full advantage as they went on to win the set and extend the match.
"They hit the ball very well," Fischer said about Madonna. "They moved the ball around a lot."
The Crusaders honored their five seniors -- Harold, Godich, Kosegi, Bahen and Dorsey -- before the start of the varsity match.
"The seniors mean a lot," Fischer said. "I coached them when I was in high school when they were in the fifth and sixth grade. I have known them for a while. It has been awesome. I have seen them grew into young women. It has been really fun to work with them. I was the assistant coach last year. It has been great to be able to continue to work with them. It has been a blessing."
The victory snapped Catholic Central's four-match losing streak. The losing skid came after the Crusaders won six-straight matches beginning with a four set victory against the Blue Dons Sept. 5 on the road.
Thursday was the cutoff day for teams to qualify for the annual OVAC Tournament. The Crusaders did not qualify in Class 2A, while the Blue Dons did not qualify in Class 1A. Both teams qualified for the conference tournament last season, and both lost in the tournament semifinals.
Madonna is scheduled to play Toronto at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on the road. Catholic Central will find out its next opponent Sunday afternoon during the Ohio tournament draw.