Dominant Lawson powers Bellmont to comfortable win
Delaney Lawson led Bellmont with 15 kills as the Braves swept Norwell at home on Tuesday.
Bellmont (22-2, 4-0 Northeast 8) finished their home schedule undefeated and in the same convincing fashion they have displayed throughout the campaign.
Norwell (14-9, 1-3 NE8), coming off a loss on Monday at Adams Central, hung around for much of the first set, but the Braves were too much for the Knights to handle in the opener.
Bellmont took the lead in the match thanks to a 25-17 win in the first.
From there, the Braves looked increasingly comfortable.
In front of a big crowd during Homecoming week, Bellmont took control of the match with a 25-10 win in set two.
In the third the Braves got off to a strong start and looked like they would run away with the set. Norwell cut into the lead, though, and got within seven points.
Each time they got close, however, the Braves showed their poise and each run the Knights put together.
Lawson, one of the seniors honored as she played in her final home match, led the Bellmont offense as she has many times this season.
Her 15 kills gave her another exceptional game to add to what has been a stellar season.
Hailey Cole, another senior, served up three aces for the Braves. Senior Jackie Sutter had two as did Alyssa Gumbel.
Cole and Gumbel each added seven kills.
In spite of the dominance they have shown this year, the Braves have yet to clinch an NE8 title.
They currently have a halfgame lead over Columbia City but have played one more match than the Eagles.
The two teams will play each other in Columbia City on October 5th.
Bellmont will make the trip to DeKalb on Thursday to face the Barons as they look to take another big step toward a conference championship.