Panthers claw back to top Brooke
Andrew Grimm Buckeye Local's Bella Glauser attempts a kill past Brooke's Preslee Ewusiak and Avery Rado.
Andrew Grimm Brooke's Kiera Kosut hits against Buckeye Local's Ellie Wilson.
Andrew Grimm Buckeye Local's Zoe Haines hits against Brooke's Kadence Nielson.
Andrew Grimm Brooke's Hanah Shaffer tries to get the ball past Buckeye Local's Zoe Haines and Bella Glauser.
Andrew Grimm Buckeye Local's Ellie Wilson attempts a kill past Brooke's Preslee Ewusiak and Kadence Neilson.
Andrew Grimm Brooke's Preslee Ewusiak attempts a hit past Buckeye Local's Kennedy Long.
Andrew Grimm Buckeye Local's Bella Glauser attempts a kill past Brooke's Preslee Ewusiak and Avery Rado.
Andrew Grimm Brooke's Kiera Kosut hits against Buckeye Local's Ellie Wilson.
Andrew Grimm Buckeye Local's Zoe Haines hits against Brooke's Kadence Nielson.
Andrew Grimm Brooke's Hanah Shaffer tries to get the ball past Buckeye Local's Zoe Haines and Bella Glauser.
Andrew Grimm Buckeye Local's Ellie Wilson attempts a kill past Brooke's Preslee Ewusiak and Kadence Neilson.
Andrew Grimm Brooke's Preslee Ewusiak attempts a hit past Buckeye Local's Kennedy Long.
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CONNORVILLE – Buckeye Local volleyball coach Abbey Wilson has been watching her young team grow and improve in recent matches. A sign of that growth has been their ability to bounce back from losing a set and not get down.
Those qualities were on full display in a home victory against Brooke on Monday night.
After the visiting Bruins won the first set of the match, the Panthers put together some big runs to take the next three-straight sets and earn a four-set victory on Kara Bright Court, their second-straight victory.
“We were definitely more efficient after the first,” Wilson said. “I’m glad we got it together. We did not get down after the first set and we’ve been doing a good job of not getting down after a tough set. I’m proud of them for that.
“Our goals this year is competing and learning and being efficient and executing. We have four freshmen in our rotation, and with our seniors leading the way, we feel like we’re getting stronger as we go.”
With a sweep of the Bruins (2-10) earlier in the season over in Wellsburg already on their resume, the win give the Panthers (4-7) a season sweep.
Brooke got off to a good start. After some early back-and-forth in the opening set and multiple early deadlocks, the Bruins went ahead 15-10. After the Panthers pushed back within two, Brooke rattled off a 7-1 run to take control on the way to a 25-18 set win.
In the second set, however, the Panthers bounced right back with a fast start, opening with a 13-3 lead. They pushed the lead to 24-10 before the Bruins rallied with 10-straight points, however the Panthers were able to hold off the rally and close the set for a 25-20 set win and even the match at 1-1.
Despite the Bruins having the momentum late in the second set, the Panthers again started fast in the third set, opening a 5-1 lead early. The Bruins pushed back, battling to within 12-11, but the Panthers had another big response, this time rattling off a 13-4 run to close the set and take the lead in the match, 25-15 and 2-1.
Once again, the hosts came out swinging to start the fourth set, jumping out to a 12-3 lead. From there, the Panthers prevented the Bruins from getting a rally going and maintained a comfortable lead on the way to closing the show with a 25-14 set win to win the match, 3-1.
“We have been working not letting any balls hit the floor, no matter the situation someone better be going after it and they really seemed to pick that up tonight,” Wilson said. “We’ve won back-to-back matches now, hopefully we can keep it going and keep improving.”
For The Panthers, a couple of those aforementioned freshmen made an impact as Ellie Wilsom tallied six aces, three digs, five kills and a block and Bella Glauser recorded eight kills, two digs and a block.
From the upperclassmen, Karlie Glover had 16 digs, a kill and an ace, Zoe Haines recorded seven kills, Myah Fabry six kills, Loraina Hess 14 assists, 10 digs and an ace and Karlie Lander finished with five assists, three digs and two aces.
UP NEXT
Brooke: Travels to Indian Creek on Thursday.
Buckeye Local: Visits East Liverpool on Thursday.