LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Rocky River closed out a season sweep of new Great Lakes Conference member Lakewood, as the Pirates defeated the Rangers, 3-0, on Thursday evening.
The Maroon & White prevailed by scores of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-16. Middle hitter Paige Waite logged a career-best 6.0 kills per set (18 for the match) in leading River to a robust .277 attack mark on the night. The Pirates, who had downed the Rangers, 3-0, in Rocky River on Sept. 3, were tagged with just three service errors and 12 dig errors in what was a solid all-around performance for a squad that has now won five of its last seven matches.
Waite committed just three attack errors and hit .576 for the match. Freshman Samantha Young hit .368 en route to a 10-kill night. Senior Emily Slyman garnered 36 assists in the Rocky River road win; she has now averaged 11.1 assists per set over her last two matches.
Senior Emma Liszeski registered 16 digs and three aces. Fellow senior Austoria Miller clocked eight digs against just one error.
Rocky River (8-6, 8-5 GLC) ran its road record to an even 4-4 with the victory on Thursday. The match across the bridge in Lakewood marked the first of three straight on the road for River. The Pirates are scheduled to be at Bay on Tuesday and then at Elyria Catholic on Oct. 8.
CANNON FIRE ...
YOUNG BUCS: River's freshman (now 13-3 on the year) and JV teams (12-2) also won on Thursday.
YOUNG BUC: The Rangers won't be sorry to have Samantha Young off their schedule for the balance of the 2020 regular season. In two matches against Lakewood, the freshman standout logged 21 kills while hitting over .400.
PAIGE TURNER: Paige Waite now has 42 kills over Rocky River's last three matches. The junior swatter is hitting .412 over her last six matches; she went into the Lakewood match with a team-best .298 mark on the season. Waite is approaching her 500th career kill; she has 491 through Thursday.
POCKET ACES: River's service game has been sharp of late. With their eight aces Thursday, the Pirates have now averaged a solid 2.8 aces per set since Sept. 22. The Maroon & White went into Thursday's contest averaging 2.1 aces per set.
SERIES: Dating to 2007, Rocky River is now 7-4 over its last 11 matches against Lakewood.
by Skip Snow
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