LAKEWOOD, Ohio (Oct. 3, 2024) -- Rocky River earned a hard-fought 3-2 win at Lakewood Thursday. The Pirates prevailed in a monster second set which was bracketed by losses in the first and third games. River would pull out the contest 18-25, 31-28, 15-25, 25-20, 15-12.
The victory marked River first in a five-set match since Sept. 28, 2023 (at North Olmsted). The Pirates (10-3, 9-3 Cleveland West Conference) are now 6-1 over their last seven contests and 6-1 across seven overall road tilts.
On Thursday, the Maroon & White downed the Rangers -- earning a season split after a 3-2 home loss to Lakewood Sept. 10 -- despite being outhit .116 to .101 and finishing with an overall error deficit of minus-21. How the Pirates strung together the ebb and flow of its kills and misfires turned out to be a solid mix of good fortune and good timing. River needed all of 20 digs in what was a marathon defensive tussle in the 59-point second. The Rocky River Swat Team banged out a .379 average in the fourth. And the visitors of the cross-river battle registered excellent service receptions over the fourth and fifth sets.
Even in that last area, the Buccaneers picked their spots in running hot and cold. Rocky River was undone by the Rangers (9-11, 5-7) finding their way to 14 aces. The 2.8 aces per set marked the most against River since Sept. 5 (Westlake 3.3).
Individually, the Pirates were paced by Sophia Goldberg and Ella Brokaw, who logged 11 kills each. Kylie Spies (23 assists) and Ella Duffy (15 assists) combined set up River hitters with 38 kills. Lilly Cupp filed 15 digs. Cupp, Duffy, and Hannah Drost each registered three aces in the match.
Olivia Baker had six aces and 7K for the Rangers. Ariana Hueter had 13K. The loss snapped a three-match win streak for LHS.
Since 2020, River is 6-1 vs. Lakewood. The last three Pirates-Rangers tilts have been 3-2 affairs.
CANNON FIRE ...
ON DECK: Rocky River host a quad-match (vs. Chardon, Elyria Catholic, North Ridgeville) on Saturday. The Pirates have played just two home matches since Sept. 12.
MILESTONE SWAT: Ella Brokaw's fifth kill Thursday marked the 500th of her career. The senior swatter went into the match hitting a team-best .344 this season. With her 11K Thursday, Brokaw has registered double-digit kill totals in six straight matches.
by Skip Snow
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