FREMONT – With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, one could argue it’s the beginning of the end of Ross’ volleyball team.
The Lady Giants, on the other hand, are hoping Tuesday night’s match against Toledo Woodward is just the beginning. The beginning of a strong finish and the starting point of a wave of momentum they hope to ride into the sectional tournament.
While it entered the night having lost its last eight matches, Ross simply overpowered Woodward. The Lady Giants cruised to a 3-0 victory, winning sets by scores of 25-5, 25-10, 25-11.
“I feel like this is what we needed to progress, going into tournaments. I think this is just the really good game that we needed,” senior Lindsay Weickert said.
“We definitely want to move past our first sectional game, get a medal and just keep progressing, making this program stronger and building on this win,” said Weickert who finished with four kills, four digs and six aces.
Though Ross had the vast advantage in size and skill, coach Kari Shull wanted her team to apply the lessons its learned throughout the year and not let the Polar Bears hang around in the match.
“Any team can get beat on any given night, which includes us,” Shull said. “Doing those little, basic things that we’re talking about, you have to do them well tonight or a team that’s scrappy like that, and continually sending you balls, all of a sudden, you’ll find yourself on the losing end.”
While Ross’ record reads 4-14 overall, senior Jazmin Bulger takes comfort in seeing how far the Lady Giants have come from where they began over the summer. She said if Ross and Woodward met at the start of the season, the match may have been more competitive than it proved to be Tuesday night.
“We’ve grown a lot, I think,” said Bulger, who totaled three kills Tuesday. “We’ve gotten a lot more aggressive at our swings. Take Liv Baptista, she’s been doing a lot better at her passing and her swings, it’s not just her. I think we’ve all grown really well for the better.”
Olivia DeRodes had four kills, five aces and six digs despite only playing in the first set as Shull distributed the playing time throughout the roster. Sara Hrynciw and Izzy Held each dished out 11 assists while Mia Boda had three passes.
Olivia Baptista finished with six digs and four kills and Brooke Baptista added three kills. Hayley Lawrence had five digs and two kills. Kennedy Bohannan had five kills, Marissa Overmyer added four kills and AnneMarie Moses had three kills.
With four matches remaining on the schedule, including TRAC foe Clay, Thursday at home at 7:30, the Lady Giants are intent on closing the season on a high note.
“Even though it’s my senior year, I want to go out with a bang,” Bulger said. “I want to go in hard, play hard, regardless of whether we win or lose, I want it to be a competitive match.”