JM gets key win over Big Red in thick of OVAC race
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MOUNDSVILLE - With the cut-off date for the OVAC Volleyball Tournament just over a week away, John Marshall was battling Steubenville for the fourth - and final - spot in Class 5A as the two squared off Monday night inside the John Marshall Fieldhouse.
The host Monarchs (16-13) needed a victory in the worst of ways and came through with flying colors with a 25-16, 25-20 and 25-8 sweep of visiting Big Red (9-6).
"The girls really showed up tonight," John Marshall head coach Chelsea Eikleberry said. "We just finished playing eight matches within 24 hours. I know the girls were tired and we're a little beaten up with injuries, but despite things not going our way lately, the girls really showed up and did what it took to win."
After five ties and a like number of lead changes, John Marshall was able to assert itself midway through the first set. Deadlocked at 9; the Monarchs reeled off nine of the next 11 points to take command at 18-11. With the score 21-16, Sarah Naome sandwiched a pair of kills around a net infraction on Steubenville before Sarah Hess put the final nail in the coffin.
The second set began like the first as the two teams were matched evenly five times early before Steubenville started to slowly but surely pull away, extending the margin to 19-15.
However, John Marshall went on an 8-0 run as Naome served six aces to lead the Monarchs to a 25-20 nod.
"They went on like an 8-0 run there, so there's some things we need to work on," Steubenville head coach Logan Colabella said. "I'll take the blame for that. We'll get back to practice tomorrow and work on those things.
Eikleberry said Naome is more than capable of doing that.
"Sarah is a hard server to return. She is a phenomenal server and is very aggressive."
The stunning reversal of fortunes took the wind out of Steubenville's sails as John Marshall cruised to leads of 7-1 and 12-2 before settling for a 25-8 decision to complete the sweep in just under an hour.
Naome, Paislee Babiczuk, Cassidy Blake and Isla Urbanek controlled the net with a combined 35 kills. Naome and Babiczuk each charted 10, while Urbanek and Blake had eight and seven, respectively.
"Cassidy is our only sophomore and has worked so hard during the offseason and so far during the season," Eikleberry praised. "She's really coachable. I told her to swing high and go for that far corner and it was working for her."
Hess finished with 38 assists.
No stats were available for Big Red.