Fairbanks’ Grace Gorton (10) leaps for a light touch putting the ball back in Grove City’s area of the court. Also pictured is Anna Lynch (28), Allie Boyd (14) and Caydee Breneman (17).
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
—
Fairbanks’ varsity volleyball squad delivered a clean sweep to visiting Grove City, improving the team’s record to 11-1.
The start of the home match was tad flat for the Lady Panthers who played after a weekend without practice. The team has had to play three Monday matches so far this season with no practice leading up to those contests.
“When you come off a weekend and you haven’t practiced… we need to get going on a Monday,” Fairbanks coach Ryanne Ufferman said. “I think we waited for the game to come to us.”
FHS fell behind early in the first set, but Grace Gorton was able to tie the match at 8-8. Moments later while falling behind slightly, Gorton tied the match again this time at 10 apiece.
The Lady Panthers began to pull away slightly with a pair of points coming from Aubrey Burns and Claudia Mueller.
However, the Lady Greyhounds stayed attentive, tying the match at 13-13.
“We were sitting back and just playing defense,” Ufferman said.
Grove City looked to take the first set after reaching the 24-point mark as Fairbanks stayed within reaching distance.
After tying the match at 24-24, Mueller put the Lady Panthers ahead by one prior to a timeout.
The Lady Panthers won the first set 26-24 after an error by Grove City.
“I was happy that we came back,” Ufferman noted. “We made a lot of errors in the beginning.”
The second set showed much improvement by the home squad, which earned a six-point lead out of the gate.
The Lady Greyhounds committed several self-inflicted wounds during that stretch.
Fairbanks continued to press the envelope, eventually winning the second set 25-15.
“They’re tall and we haven’t seen that height,” Ufferman said. “We have to have confidence to attack.”
The third set went quicker than the previous as the Lady Panthers notched another six-point lead.
Fairbanks eventually showed its dominance after Gorton’s point took the team’s lead to 14-4.
The Lady Panthers stayed focused in the latter half of the third game with Mueller securing the sweep with an ace to take the third set 25-10.
Along with an 11-1 overall record, the Lady Panthers elevated their Ohio Heritage Conference mark to 7-0.
“This is the first year we’ve hit some of those Monday matches,” Ufferman said. “I think we did a really good job at taking care of the volleyball in the second and third sets.”
The Lady Panthers are scheduled to compete at fellow OHC member Cedarville on Thursday.
“We need our back row to own the fact that they’re controlling our speed,” Ufferman said.
Fairbanks team stats:
Kills: Reese Poling 2, Grace Gorton 15, Allie Boyd 1, Caydee Breneman 4, Aubrey Bunrs 5, Sophie Little 13, Claudia Mueller 3.
Assists: Allie Boyd 38, Caydee Breneman 1, Reese Poling 1, Sophie Little 1.
Aces: Reese Poling 2, Grace Gorton 1, Aubrey Burns 1, Sophie Little 2, Claudia Mueller 1.
Digs: Reese Poling 16, Grace Gorton 17, Allie Boyd 3, Caydee Breneman 1, Anna Lynch 4, Aubrey Burns 3, Sophie Little 9.
The Fairbanks JV team defeated Grove City 25-13, 25-8.
—
A Grove City blocker goes up to try to thwart Claudia Mueller’s kill attempt during a match at Fairbanks.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)