WESTLAKE, Ohio (Sept. 15, 2022) -- A gritty effort brought the Pirates back from a 2-0 deficit -- and into a wild 2-2 tie -- before Rocky River was vanquished in a fifth and final set in a 3-2 (15-25,14-25,25-19,25-9,8-15) loss at Westlake Thursday.
Coach Brittany Morris characterized Thursday's near-comeback as equal parts tenacity, leadership, and versatility. It was a potent mix in the titanic Great Lakes Conference West Division tilt between two unbeaten teams.
The Demons (11-0, 4-0 GLC West) were sharp in yielding only 29 points over the first two games of the evening. The Pirates (6-1, 3-1) battled back by cleaning up front- and backcourt errors alike. They gained some confidence with a 25-19 victory in set No. 3.
Then, in the fourth, a Maggie Pfahl-and-Samantha Young-fueled 17-2 run rocketed River to a 25-9 win. Pfahl, who finished the night with 29 serves, had five aces in game 4; Young had seven kills without an error. And the Pirates had fought their way back to 2-2.
In the fifth-and-deciding set, Westlake regathered the momentum of the match and did so early. Middle hitter Anika Norris pounded out six kills as part of an 11-2 run to open the final game. Norris finished with 22 kills on the night.
For the match, the Demons outhit the Pirates .252 to .071. Westlake had 13 blocks to River's eight. The home side logged 98 digs against 21 errors; the visitors responded with 64 and 35, respectively.
Rocky River's big edge was in the service game. The Pirates had a season-high 15 aces; Westlake was forced into a season-high 14 serve-reception errors. The Maroon & White had four players (Pfahl-five aces, Ella Duffy-4, Clare Duffy-2, Madie Shoaf-2) register multiple aces.
Samantha Young matched Norris with 22 kills. Young also had 12 digs. Pfahl had a team-high 17 digs. Shoaf had 5K and three total blocks. Ella Brokaw added 5K and five total blocks. Kylie Spies (18 assists) and Clare Duffy (15A) led River in assists.
For Westlake, Norris had five solo blocks and six total blocks. Olivia Mogyordy had 11 kills while hitting .323. Alyssa Carman filed a match-high 30 digs. Shelby Bloor had 35 assists.
Westlake, which registered a district runner-up finish a year ago, has not lost a regular-season match since Oct. 8 2020. Dating back to 2016, the Demons have now won eight straight from the Pirates. That streak has now seen five matches go the distance.
by Skip Snow
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