MEDINA, Ohio -- The River Raiders were going to lose a set at some point. On Thursday night at Buckeye, Rocky River -- fresh off back-to-back sweeps to start the season 2-0 -- battled back from a hard-fought loss in set No. 3. The Pirates prevailed in the fourth and defeated the Bucks, 3-1 (25-16, 25-15, 26-28, 25-18).

Sophomore Samantha Young clocked a .363 hitting mark while delivering 22 kills. Senior Paige Waite had 14 kills. Junior Madie Shoaf and senior Harper Piguet added eight and five kills, respectively. Rocky River (3-0) hit .278 for the match.

Those Pirate swatters were set up by senior Estella Giomini, who tallied 50 assists on the evening. Giomini also had 14 digs on a night that saw the Pirates register a season-high 22.3 digs per set. Sophomore Maggie Pfahl logged 28 digs against just two errors.

Piguet and senior Megan Lally carded four block assists each. River's .278 hitting percentage was a marked improvement to the .087 performance the Pirates recorded in a loss in their last match at Buckeye (Sept. 12).

Thursday's match was a Great Lakes Conference crossover contest. Rocky River is slated to open GLC West Division play on Tuesday with a home match against new league member North Olmsted.


by Skip Snow

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