PEP TALK — Big Red head volleyball coach Logan Collabella gives her team a pep talk during a timeout in Thursday’s match at Catholic Central. - Aaron Petchal

Big Red raced out to a 7-1 advantage in the first set, and the Red and Black did not look back en route to sweeping the Crusaders, 25-8, 25-13, 25-17, Thursday night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.

“That is something we like to see,” Big Red (4-4) head coach Logan Colabella said. “I am proud of the girls for playing hard from start to finish. They played with a lot of energy.”

Big Red had a brief hiccup in Game 3, but the girls in red were able to right the ship and went on a run to win the game and end the match.

“I think we have a chemistry issue,” first-year Catholic Central (0-8) head coach Kaylyn Cochran said. “When you are dealing with high school kids, it is hard to get past the egos.”

SERVING IT UP — Big Red’s Addison Snyder prepares to serve against Catholic Central. - Aaron Petchal

The visitors nearly doubled up the hosts in points as Big Red scored 75 in the three games, while Catholic Central tallied 38.

“We are on a four game winning streak,” Colabella said. “We play Beaver and Weir in a tri Saturday. It is good that we have momentum right now. We’re looking to use that to our advantage.”

Individually for Big Red, Aubrey Slussar delivered five aces, 32 assists and one block, Addy Snyder added four aces, seven kills and three digs and Emma Lyons ended up with four aces, eight kills, three blocks and two digs. Also, Giuliana Cramer recorded 11 kills and one dig, A’rya Bigsby contributed seven kills and two blocks and Annabella Clutter tallied four digs. Finally, Paition Vrable collected three digs and Phynyx Felming finished with three kills.

“Not at all,” Cochran said asked if Big Red did anything unexpected in the match. “They have kids who can hit the ball. They have kids who can move. They have kids who can really hit it when they get the opportunity. They’re a good team. They’re competitive. They did exactly what I expected them to do.”

The Crusaders had difficulty putting scoring runs together.

“Not really,” Colabella said asked if Catholic Central did anything different with Cochran as the team’s head coach. “Catholic Central is always well-rounded. They’re scrappy. They go after every ball.”

Big Red jumped out to a 7-1 lead in Game 1 forcing Cochran to call a timeout, however, Big Red continued to roll as they pulled away and won the game by 17 points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second game was closer, however, another Big Red scoring run allowed them to pull away for a 12-point victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Game 3 was the closest one.

Big Red held the lead, but the girls in white pulled within two points forcing Colabella to call a timeout. The timeout proved to be effective as Big Red was quickly able to turn the tide and regain the momentum on their way to winning the game by eight points to sweep the match.

Big Red is scheduled to play Weir and Beaver Local in a tri-match Saturday down inside the Crimson Center. Big Red is set to play the Beavers at 10 a.m. with the Red Riders and Beavers playing after that with the Red Riders taking on Big Red in the final match of the day.

Catholic Central is slated to play Harrison Central Saturday at home. The JV match is set to start at 11 a.m. The Huskies swept the Crusaders Aug. 19 at home.

“It is a rematch from early on in the season,” Cochran said. “It didn’t go as I expected it to. The girls have put a lot of work in in the gym. They have put a lot of time in. They are asking questions, they are focusing on their skill and focusing on their technique. I am confident going into the game Saturday. When you coach high school, you have a lot of emotions you have to handle. We have to be able to get past all the emotions.”