Jonathan Alder’s Lizzie Lombardi (20) and Jaden Phelps (right) go up for a block on Wednesday against the Columbus School for Girls. The Lady Pioneers swept their opening match of the Division II tournament. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
A huge benefit of being a highly-ranked team in the post-season is the fact the opening tourney contest often won’t be much of a challenge.
Jonathan Alder’s volleyball squad, which has earned the No. 1 seed in the Division II tournament, traveled along that path on Wednesday.
The Lady Pioneers swept past No. 15 Columbus School for Girls by scores of 25-13, 25-11, 25-17. In doing so, they upped their record to 18-0.
It took a few minutes for Alder to get untracked during the opening set.
The Unicorns took a 6-5 edge on a kill by Emma Salamon.
CSG sent a serve into the net to tie the game and Emma Shepherd blasted a kill for a 7-6 JA margin.
The Lady Pioneers scored the next eight points for a 15-6 advantage.
Kennady Izzard tallied an ace serve, while Ava Francis and Shepherd added kills during the run.
Francis pounded another kill over the net for a 19-8 Alder lead.
The Unicorns committed a number of passing and hitting miscues down the stretch as JA took a 1-0 lead in sets.
Francis’ tip over the net broke a 3-all stalemate and gave Alder a 4-3 edge early in the ensuing game.
A kill from Jaden Phelps put the Lady Pioneers up 7-4.
Jonathan Alder’s advantage climbed to 15-5 when Lizzie Lombardi assisted on a kill by Ellie Heisler.
Another kill by Francis pushed JA to a 20-9 lead.
The set ended when Lombardi assisted on Phelps’ next kill.
The Lady Pioneers got off to a slow start during the final game.
A hitting error dropped JA behind by a 5-2 count.
Kills by Olivia Crabtree and Gracie Nees later tied the battle at 6-6.
The Unicorns held a 9-7 edge before the Lady Pioneers got their offense on the right path.
Olivia Ishmael’s kill narrowed Alder’s deficit to 10-9.
CSG then spent several minutes committing hitting and passing errors.
As a result, JA went on top, 14-11.
The Unicorns stayed within three and four points for the next several minutes.
An ace serve from Shepherd and a double hit call against CSG gave Alder some breathing room at 21-13.
Nees tallied another kill for a 22-15 advantage.
CSG did not get any closer than six points the rest of the way.
Jonathan Alder went to set point – 24-17 – when the Unicorns were whistled for a rotation infraction.
CSG then sent a serve reception out of bounds to end the set and match.
Jonathan Alder coach Joe Ross was pleased with a couple factors in the match.
“The last couple of days in practice, we’ve been working on serving and passing,” he said. “The higher level you go in the tournament, the more important those fundamentals are.
“If we can pass and serve with the type of confidence we had tonight, we’re going to be OK.”
The Lady Pioneers will return to tourney action next Thursday (Oct. 29).
They will host No. 10 Bloom Carroll, beginning at 6 p.m.