Gabby Ziegler, left, of North Union follows through on a hit while two Buckeye Valley blockers attempt to block the shot. Ziegler tallied seven kills during NU’s 3-0 win. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Lady Cats hosted one of their former Mid Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball foes Buckeye Valley in non-conference action on Wednesday.
NU topped the Barons in a three-set sweep to increase its record to 11-3.
North Union opened game one with solid offense from its hitters and blockers to climb to an early 16-7 lead.
Gabby Ziegler tipped the ball over the blocking hands of the Barons on a four-side volley for that margin.
NU coach Peg Curts said she loves to walk away with wins, but was impressed by the way her team played.
“Wins are always good, but what really impressed me was the way we moved and worked together,” she said. “They didn’t let a whole lot of things drop. They were pretty scrappy on the floor.”
The Lady Cats continued to keep the points piling on in their favor with some solid defensive blocking from Grace Brandt, who tallied four.
NU took a 1-0 lead on a 25-11 triumph.
Curts said coming out strong is something she has preached to her team all season. However, she has seen tremendous improvement from the beginning of the year.
“As a coach, you always want your team to get better as you are go along,” she said. “I don’t have to say a whole lot anymore.
“They are to the point where they are making adjustments on the floor themselves. That is what a good team does.”
NU took its momentum into set two by grabbing an early lead.
The Lady Barons, though, kept the battle tight midway through the set.
The scrappy play for the Lady Cats’ backline kept the ball alive as they tallied 57 digs as a team in the match.
Kayla Sedgwick tallied 19 digs.
Curts said with more than half of the team replaced this season, the Lady Cats to learn their roles.
She said that showed during NU’s 25-19 triumph to take a 2-0 lead.
“We knew coming into this year that we were going to have to put together another half of a team and we were going to have to settle into their roles,” said Curts. “We talk a lot about everyone doing their role on the court.
“Overall, we can be a strong team and we are getting to that point.”
An injury to Jordyn Hoffman between sets two and three brought in Cambria Skaggs off of the bench.
Skaggs came off the bench and helped NU take a 6-3 lead with five service points.
“It was really nice that we could rely on each other and put Cambria in there,” said Curts. “She went in there and rocked it.
“The girls didn’t waiver,” she said. “They just continued playing their game.”
The early momentum took the Cats through to the end and complete the sweep with a 25-21 victory.
North Union will return to action today when it travels to Tecumseh.
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