By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Despite a hiccup in set two, the Ada volleyball team swept visiting backyard rival Upper Scioto Valley in straight sets on a warm Tuesday evening.
The Lady Bulldog spikers improved to 3-1 by winning the non-league match 25-12, 25-21, 25-6. USV fell to 0-1 after losing their first match.
"We are focusing on eliminating errors," said new Ada head coach Kyleigh Tabor. "We made 15 errors in the second set, but only four in the third.
"We can't win games if we don't take care of the ball and clean up our game. But we covered on defense well, did well in serve receive and served aggressively," she added.
Ada served 23 aces in the match.
Sidney Gossard served three aces to start the match strongly for the Bulldogs. Morgan Swick then fired three aces as Ada raced to a 9-1 lead. Kendal Guagenti's ace extended the margin to 13-2.
Two kills by Rilan Conley and some Ram errors advanced the lead to 18-4. Kills by Megan Light, Raina England and Miranda Wills put Ada on top, 21-7.
The scrappy Rams inched within 23-12 after a Maddy Cornell ace, but the Bulldogs closed out the opening set 25-12.
Cornell and Conley traded kills early in game two. Wills served six points in a row, helped by two aces and a pair of Conley kills as Ada pulled ahead 12-4.
Aces by Avery Sanders and Shyanne Howard sparked a 10-2 Ram run that tied it 14-14. Consecutive aces by Lanae Roy gave USV its first lead of the match.
Ada regained the edge on back-to-back aces by Gossard. However, a 5-2 USV spurt gave the visitors a 21-20 lead. Ada tied it by winning a long rally, and then Wills took over.
She served the last four points, dealing one ace. Gossard caught USV unawares with a fake set/quick tip to reach game point, then ended game two 25-21 with a tip to the open middle.
The slick-serving Swick reeled off 11 straight points early in set three with four aces to give Ada a commanding 13-1 cushion. USV finally stopped the flurry on a hitting error.
Three Ram errors and a kill by Conley that crawled over the net and fell to the floor made it 18-3. A tip and an ace by Conley furthered Ada's lead, 21-6.
Wills finished the match with a kill to cap a 7-0 finishing run that provided a 25-6 Bulldog triumph.
Junior setter Gossard led the victors in assists with 16. She also served six aces and came up with a dozen digs.
Senior Conley drilled a team-high 13 kills. Senior Swick hustled up five digs and dished out nine aces.
Sophomore Guagenti made eight digs and dealt three aces. Sophomore Wills served three aces. Classmate Megan Light added three kills.
Ada visits always-tough Coldwater Thursday night in another non-league bout.
"Coldwater lost to St. Henry last Saturday in three close sets," noted Tabor, whose team fell to SH 3-1 Monday. "It will be another hard match vs. a MAC school."
