ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Sept. 5, 2023) -- Rocky River had its back against a wall in a home match against Great Lakes Conference West Division foe North Olmsted Tuesday. But the Pirates swung their way out of trouble, overcoming a season-high 26 back-line errors by hitting a season-high .245 in a 3-1 victory (25-12, 27-29, 25-19, 25-19).
The Buccaneers got nine-plus kills from four players in a performance well set up by Ella Duffy (25 assists) and Kylie Spies (26A). Ella Brokaw (13 kills), Katelyn Heavey (13K), and Samantha Young (15K while hitting .500) were River's big net plusses on an night that saw the squad win its 13the consecutive match at home.
Coach Brittany Hensley noted that the Pirates won a hard-fought match without perhaps playing at their best.
"It wasn't the best night for us. North Olmsted really tested our girls, and I'm proud of how they fought through some tough points and tough sets. It's a great learning experience to have to rely on grit when some fundamentals might get looked over."
For the Pirates (5-0, 2-0 GLC West), Tuesday's 3-1 triumph marked an end to a string of three straight 3-0 wins. It marked River's first four-set home match since Oct. 4 (3-1 win over Westlake). And it ran the program's record against North Olmsted to 10-1 since 2008.
Maggie Pfahl logged 24 digs against just three errors. Young filed 13 digs against three errors. The Raiders were otherwise tagged with one error for every 1.8 digs.
CANNON FIRE ...
POINTS OF NO RETURN: Kylie Spies registered a season-high four aces against the Eagles. Spies -- now second on the team with 11 aces this season (Maggie Pfahl 16) -- has registered four-or-more aces in a match six times in her career.
DIG THIS: Prior to Tuesday's contest, Rocky River had committed just 4.77 dig errors per set. That's down from 6.77 per set last fall.
ON DECK: The Pirates will continue their run of GLC West contests with a Thursday match at Westlake. Rocky River and the Demons split two matches last season. The RRHS win (Oct. 4) snapped an eight-match losing streak to WHS.
by Skip Snow
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