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STEUBENVILLE -- The first round of bragging rights goes to the Catholic Central volleyball team.
Catholic Central got off to a fast start against city-rival Big Red, and the Crusaders made the necessary plays en route to sweeping the Red-and-Black, 25-15, 25-21, 25-21, Tuesday night inside at home inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.
"It was a huge win," Catholic Central (6-1) head coach Sherri Barber said. "We came in with a really good game plan, and we stuck to it."
After winning the first game by 10 points, the Blue-and-Gold came through in the clutch in the second and third games to record the sweep.
"They made the plays that mattered," Big Red (3-3) head coach Logan Colabella said. "Nothing hit the ground. They covered the floor. They moved well."
Individually for Catholic Central, Lilly Balzano tallied 11 points, eight assists, five blocks, five kills and one ace, Anna Arai added 10 points, one assist, three blocks, 10 kills and one ace and Natalie Cherepko produced eight points, two assists, three blocks, four kills and two aces. Also, Ella Maragos collected 22 points, three blocks, one kill and two aces, Talia Marcino contributed 13 points, two blocks, four kills and two aces and Ava Marcino delivered 12 points, 10 assists, three blocks and seven kills. Finally, Emily Walker recorded wo blocks.
"We knew they were scrappy," Colabella said. "They got the ball off the floor. We have to put the ball down."
For Big Red, Sarah Allen tallied three digs, one assist, six kills, one solo block and one block assists, Sena Smith contributed six kills and two solo blocks, and Tejah Montgomery recorded five kills and one dig. Also, Kaitlyn Smith recorded two kills, one block assist and one dig, Analesa Purdue produced six kills and one solo block and Emma Lyons collected seven kills, two solo blocks and three block assists. Finally, Julia Arlesic finished with one dig.
"Logan does a nice job," Barber said. "She has a lot of the girls, that's for sure."
The Crusaders raced out to a 7-2 lead in Game 1 forcing Colabella to call a timeout. The lead grew to 9-2. A second timeout was called with the hosts out in front 15-9. The victors built their advantage up to 24-12 before winning the game by 10 and taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
"We stayed focus," Barber said. "There was a nice crowd. The girls kept their energy up.
"We played well offensively and defensively. We had 14 blocks. That is a lot for a little school. We only have 17 girls and that is counting JV and varsity. It is a nice win."
The second game was back-and-forth until the girls in white gained control in the later stages of it.
The Crusaders rallied early to take a 5-3 lead, but Big Red bounced back with three straight points to take a 6-5 lead. Catholic Central countered with three straight points to take an 8-6 advantage, and the score ended up being tied at 10.
The Crusaders took an 18-16 lead, causing Colabella to call a timeout. She took another with her team down 21-17. This time, the girls in red closed the gap and pulled within 23-21 forcing Barber to call a timeout.
Catholic Central responded as it scored the final two points of the game to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
"We are always scrappy," Barber said. "We hope to be known for our defense."
The third game was also a close one.
"We did not have film on them, and we did not have a chance to watch them," Barber said. "We were not able to see them play except for a few highlight tapes."
The visitors took a 6-4 lead, and later on they led 14-11 before the home team stormed back to knot the score at 14. Big Red regained the lead at 16-14, but Catholic Central came right back and tied the score. The visiting team then scored the next two points to once again take the lead, but the winning team responded with the next two to once again tie the score.
The Crusaders built a 22-19 advantage causing Colabella to call a timeout. The lead grew to 24-20 before Big Red stayed alive with a point, however, Catholic Central collected the next point to win the game and the match.
"We have some pretty impressive stats," Barber said. "We served well. We hit well.
"We have three seniors. They are a great group to coach. They work hard. It is nice to see our hard work pay off."
The match was a disappointing one for Big Red, but the team has to forget about and move on to the next match.
"We have a big week," Colabella said. "We play Weir tomorrow, and then we have a tri Saturday with Dover and Beaver Local. We have to have a short memory. We are going to have to bounce back."
Big Red is scheduled to take on the Red Riders today at home inside the Crimson Center. The JV match is slated to start at 5:30 p.m.
Catholic Central will play Beallsville Saturday on the road. The JV match is set to start at 11 a.m.