Falcons defeat Athens, bounced by Dons on homestand
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford Falcons volleyball team split a pair of home matches over the past week, picking up a conference victory over Athens last Tuesday before falling to Columbus Catholic on Thursday evening. Abbotsford is now 7-9 overall and is tied for the top record in the Marawood-North after starting the season 2-0 in conference play.
Columbus, 3-1
The Falcons went toe to toe with the eighth-ranked Dons last Thursday, and while the home team was able to hold their own for portions of the match, Columbus was able to use big runs in each of the final three sets to pull away.
Abbotsford put the Dons on the back foot in the first game, taking an early 10-5 advantage following a pair of kills from Celia Schindler around a block courtesy of Marilyn Hammock. The Falcons managed to hold onto that lead for much of the set, but the Dons were able to knot things up at 23-23 as the set moved towards its conclusion. An ace from Faith Sperl broke the tie and the junior was able to seal the victory by dealing another ace on her next serve.
Despite holding on to claim the first set, the Falcons weren’t able to transfer that momentum over to the second game. They fell behind early, the Dons building a double digit lead and holding on to it for much of the contest. A run towards the end of the set by the Falcons, capped by a kill from Lauryn Harris, cut that lead back down to nine at 24-15, but a service error on the following play allowed Columbus to take their first win of the series.
Two hitting errors from the Dons tied the game at 2-2 in the third set, but that would be the closest the Falcons would get to leading. A 5-1 run for the visitors was ended with a kill from Riley Podevels and Abbotsford managed to bring them-
See FALCONS HOMESTAND/ Page 13
BATTLES AT THE NET - Lauryn Harris, left, smashes the ball through the Columbus Catholic block during the Falcons’ match against the Dons last Thursday while Celia Schindler, right, finds a soft spot in the visitors’ defense as she tips it over the net. The pair led the team in kills against Columbus, with Schindler recording 10 and Harris adding five.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Falcons homestand
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selves back within two points, but the Dons slowly grew their lead out to six points over midgame. The two squads traded points in the final moments of the contest, which worked in favor of the leading Columbus team, which won the set 25-19.
The Falcons took an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set, getting another ace from Sperl to supplement their early offense. The visitors quickly recovered, however and retook the lead after winning the 6-6 rally. The two teams went back and forth, but a 4-0 run for the Dons gave them a 14-9 advantage. The Falcons managed to cut that lead back down to two after scoring three straight points, a run capped off by a Podevels block, but the Dons dominated the end game, outscoring Abbotsford 11-3 over the final rallies.
Schindler led the team with 10 kills in the loss, followed by five from Harris and four courtesy of Reece Nelson. Sperl had five aces and Neveah Treankler added another three.
On defense, Hammock had two blocks and Caylee Clement led the team with 16 digs. Sperl and Podevels picked up 12 digs each.
Athens, 3-1
The Falcons racked up 43 kills en route to their second Marawood-North victory over Athens last Tuesday, Abbotsford’s offense running smoothly through middle hitters Marilyn Hammock and Lauryn Harris, both of whom ended the match with hitting percentages over .350. After Abbotsford claimed the first set 2519, the Bluejays bounced back to claim the second set 25-16. The tiebreaker was the closest contest of the evening, but the Falcons came out on top, securing a 25-20 win and taking a 2-1 advantage. The fourth set was all Abbotsford and the home team finished off Athens 25-13 in the final.
Three Falcons ended the game with double digit kills on Tuesday. Hammock led the team with 13 kills on a .522 hitting percentage, only suffering an error on one of her 23 attempts. Celia Schindler added another 11 kills from the outside and Lauryn Harris had 10 kills and two hitting errors on 21 attempts, resulting in a .381 hitting percentage.
Abbotsford also found some success from the service area, dealing up eight aces over the course of the match. Schindler and Faith Sperl were responsible for six themselves, recording three each, while Halie Vanluven and Caylee Clement added one each.
Defensively, Hammock had one solo block and Schindler and Harris combined for another. Riley Podevels led the team with 20 digs and Schindler and Clement both had 14 each as the team dug out 74 hits from the Bluejays.
“Once conference play begins, you can throw the records out the window,” head coach John Kreeger stated. “We complete in one of the best small school conferences in the state, and the matches are tough every night. We are starting to come together on the court, and we are excited to see how competitive we can become.”
Abbotsford will be back in action when they travel to Tomahawk for a quad on Thursday, Sept. 26. They are scheduled to play Marathon at 5:15 p.m. and then Antigo at 6:30 p.m. in pool play before taking on a third squad at 8 p.m. depending on the results of the first two matches.
