MADISON TOWNSHIP — Ashland and Madison kept their streaks going Tuesday night, that was good news for the Arrows and bad news for the Rams.
Ashland remained undefeated by picking up an Ohio Cardinal Conference volleyball victory that left the Rams winless.
The Rams (0-3) fell behind in the middle of the first set, but kept the Arrows’ hitters in check to earn a 27-25 win.
Rams coach Mandy Glessner was impressed because her squad had not played a match in a week.
“I was not expecting that. Our girls dug deep and they found a way to win, and it was amazing. I think they were riding the high a little too long and thought everything would fall into place like it had and we fell apart a little bit,” Glessner said. “Too little too late.”
But that was the high point for Madison.
“They came out with a lot of energy in game one,” coach Jenise Vaughn said of their first match loss. “It got better as the match continued.”
The Arrows (2-0) responded. In the second set, Ashland’s leading hitter Carrie Uhler spearheaded a 25-21 win that swung the momentum of the match.
“We talked (to the girls) in game one and game two about playing the game at our speed,” Vaughn said. “I think we play a bit faster, and as the game continued we were relaxing and having fun. That’s when we play our best.”
The Arrows reeled off four runs of at least four straight points to take a 25-9 win in game three. Ashland’s dominated the fourth set to finish it.
“Madison was super scrappy. The hitters kept asking, where are the holes? where are the holes?’ And we had to say, ‘just hit harder,’ ” the coach said. “It was hard to put balls away, and that can be frustrating for our hitters. I think we did a good job of finding the holes and mixing up our offense.
“Our right sides put some balls away, and they are not usually our go-to hitters. I was very proud of them.”
Glessner said she was happy with the defense her Rams displayed.
“Getting some of those balls — those (Ashland) girls can jump out of the gym and hit the ball down and hard,” Glessner said. “I kept looking across the net and some of their faces said, ‘are you kidding me right now?’ They thought they would get a kill, and it just throw a hitter off when they think, ‘Yeah, I feel really good about this one,’ and someone gets it.”
Player’s success
For Ashland, Carrie Uhler led the team with 15 kills, and was followed by Bryanna Masters with 12 kills. Masters also had 16 assists. Ryleigh Honaker registered 22 digs and Kylie Radebaugh collected 20 digs.
For Madison, Leah Boggs and Kinsey Kriner led their team defensively with 15 digs each. Taylor Rose notched eight kills and two aces. Ashton Floyd smacked six kills.
Glessner said she was impressed by her setter and team captain, Kinsey Kriner.
“My setter, one of my seniors, shows on the court why she is one of our captains,” The Rams coach said. “She is always positive and gets to every ball, and if she doesn’t she says, ‘my bad, I’ll get the next one.’ And she does.
“We’ve been working on her with defense. Last year she was setting out of the back row and she never played in the front row at all. She has been working her butt off to jump higher and be faster. She gets her hands on her blocks. At five two and a half (feet tall) she is really proud of that two and a half. She is not supposed to be able to jump that high, but she has been putting in work. She is showing the girls this is what we can do if you’re willing to work for it.”
