Kennedy Bohannan
SANDUSKY – A tweak to the lineup did the trick.
After splitting the first two sets of its match at Sandusky, the Ross volleyball team changed up some personnel.
Senior Lindsay Weicket put on the libero jersey, the Lady Giants put up a bigger block on the right side and kept sophomore Olivia Baptista on the court all the way around the rotation.
The moves worked as the Lady Giants won the next two sets to win the match, 25-17, 19-25, 25-16, 25-18.
“We came out a little slow, we struggled in the first set or two with our passing so we made some lineup adjustments for sets 3 and 4,” coach Kari Shull said. “It just gave us a bigger block on that right side, pulling our passes back in the middle of the court because those balls were shaky in the first and second sets. We had a hard time getting our arms going, so after we started getting more consistent passes, we were able to get our big swings in.”
Shull cited Kennedy Bohannan, three kills, Olivia Baptista, five digs and 12 passes, and AnneMarie Moses, three kills, 10 digs, 13 passes, for their play Monday night.
Olivia Baptista
“Kenney Bohannan and Olivia Baptist played very well tonight, along with AnneMarie Moses,” Shull said. “Whether it was attacking or taking the big swings or being aggressive on defense or refusing to let the ball hit the floor, consistent with passing or stepping up with serve-receive defense.
“Sometimes we have some of our big guns that can’t get going and we need other kids to come out the plate and step up and I think that happened tonight.”
Olivia DeRodes led with seven kills, seven digs and 10 passes. Jazmin Bulger added four kills and five blocks.
Weickert had a team-high 15 passes and six digs, Sara Hrynciw led with 10 assists with six digs while Izzy Held added three assists.
The Lady Giants improve to 5-15 overall and will go back to Sandusky Tuesday when they visit Perkins for a 7:30 match. Ross closes its regular season Thursday at Toledo Central Catholic before starting the district tournament next week. The Lady Giants will play at Toledo Start on Oct. 18.
“We’re working to try to build momentum as we head into the tournament next week,” Shull said. “A little slow start today for a Monday but hopefully we continue to build momentum throughout the week.”
AnneMarie Moses