ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Sept. 21, 2023) -- There were moments of Ranger danger throughout, but River's back line came through with a solid evening and the Pirates prevailed in a close one. That was how things played out in a 3-2 Rocky River victory over Lakewood Thursday. The home side edged their visitors from across the Detroit Rocky River Bridge, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-12.
Pirate seniors Katelyn Heavey, Maggie Pfahl, Lenore Wright, and Samantha Young were honored in a pre-match ceremony. The evening marked Senior Night for the Rocky River program, and that quartet came through in several key moments of the tense 3-2 match.
"It was good to win for out seniors," said coach Brittany Hensley. "We had our ups and downs tonight, but our girls were able to figure things out in a good team effort."
While that effort included momentum swings on the scoreboard, a bloated 7.4 hitting errors per set, and periodic troubles in the service department, it also included an ability to defend. To literally dig deep to keep points alive. The Pirates (9-4) registered 105 digs to just 21 defensive miscues.
Two seniors, Maggie Pfahl and Samantha Young, combined to record nearly half of those 105 digs. Pfahl's evening included 30 digs and a pair of aces. Young logged 20 digs to go with team-highs in kills (23) and aces (four). But even Young was held under .200 on the attack (.184) by a resolute Lakewood six.
The Rangers (4-11) displayed a gutty effort in extending points, sets, and the match. Their two games marked their first against Rocky River since defeating the Pirates 3-1 on Oct. 10, 2015.
Heavey had 8K and 7D. Wright chipped in with 8D and a pair of aces. Asa team, Rocky River clocked 14 aces against 19 service errors in the match. The latter figure marked the most the Pirates have had on record (match stats dating back to 2014). The 3.8 service errors per set marked the program's most in a single match since Sept. 17, 2020 (4.0 per set vs. Normandy).
Ella Brokaw added 8K, 7D, and four total blocks. Kylie Spies had 15D and 26 assists in what marked River's fifth straight win over Lakewood. As a team, the Pirates hit .089, which is their second-lowest mark of the season (.056 vs. Bay Sept. 13).
Where the Buccaneers did hit it big is when they brought Mss. Heavey, Pfahl, Wright, and Young into the program years ago. While Brittany Hensley surely would have preferred a win in fewer sets Thursday, that Pirate quartet is certainly worthy of a high five of a different sort.
CANNON FIRE ...
SENIOR STAT LINE: Rocky River's four seniors have combined to produce 1,228 career kills and 1,792 career digs.
ON DECK: On Saturday, Rocky River will host a non-conference match against Brunswick.
by Skip Snow
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