The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Avon, Amherst head for SWC showdown
Last season, Avon and Amherst were co-champions in the SWC. After good starts by both squads, the Sept. 14 match between the two will have important title ramifications. Plus, Top of the Crop.
Last year, there was a new champion — or, champions — in town after Olmsted Falls had won the Southwestern Conference title twice over the 2014-15 seasons.
After Avon won the first match at Amherst, 3-2, the Comets took the final regular season meeting on the road to secure what would become an SWC co-championship when both teams won out the rest of conference play. Olmsted Falls finished as runner-up.
Now, a little less than a month into the 2017 season, both teams have seemingly picked up where they left off last year and head into their Sept. 14 showdown at Avon boasting undefeated records: Avon at 9-0 and Amherst 10-0.
Though the Comets are no strangers to success on the volleyball court, the 10win start is the best since the 2010 regional-semifinal squad cruised to an 18-0 record before none other than Olmsted Falls snapped the winning streak.
“(This) is probably the best start that we have ever had, all of us,” senior London Voss said after Amherst’s most recent win against the Bulldogs Sept. 5. “We have a lot of confidence going in, but we know we haven’t accomplished anything yet and that we still have a long road ahead of us in the SWC.”
That road continues Sept. 14, and though the Comets know the type of opponent they will face in Avon, they’re certainly confident after stealing a 3-2 match on the Eagles’ home court last season.
For Avon, sustaining winning streaks is nothing new. The Eagles won 16 straight in 2016 before a nonconference loss to eventual Grafton District champion St. Joseph Academy in the final two weeks of the regular season, but this year, Coach Julie Bendzuck is counting on experience to be the difference where last year’s youth may have held the team back.
“We’ve been young for all these years and we’re really not anymore with only two sophomores on our team,” the fifth-year coach said after an Aug. 24 win over Avon Lake, “The successes and failures that we’ve had — all of that can be used to our advantage.”
In this particular matchup, though, experience will be featured on both sides of the net as Amherst graduated just two seniors from its 2016 team while Avon graduated three, and considering both teams likely don’t want to have to share a conference title this season, this match will most certainly bring out the best in both teams.
Milestone
Columbia senior Kaitlynn Krupinski reached a
TOP OF THE CROP
Volleyball1: (1) Amherst 10-0 2: (2) Avon 9-0 3: (4) Westlake 7-4 4: (5) Olmsted Falls 6-4 5: (8) Fairview 9-2 6: (3) Columbia 6-2 7: (9) Rocky River 6-2 8: (7) Avon Lake 5-3 9: (6) Bay 5-2 10: (10) Elyria 4-6
Dropped out: None. Watch list: Brookside 5-5,
milestone Sept. 12 when she recorded her 1,000th dig in a 3-0 loss at Oberlin.
Krupinski, a four-year letterwinner for the Raiders, has averaged 5.1 digs per set through 27 sets this season, which is good for fifth-best in the Morning Journal area.
The senior is also considered one of the top setters in the area and her 175 assists (6.5 a/s) place her in the top 10. For her career, Krupinski has 2,456 assists, good for an average of 9.3 per set.
With the loss to Oberlin, Columbia, the defending division co-champion, is now 3-2 in the Patriot Athletic Lutheran West 4-4, Oberlin 3-6, Vermilion 4-7 Crop comments: Amherst and Avon remain the area’s top teams and will face off Sept. 14 at Avon. ... Westlake and Olmsted Falls picked up two wins this week, keeping both in the top five, while Fairview jumps three spots to No. 5 after going 4-1 on the week and remaining in first place in the PAC Stripes Division. ... Columbia falls after going 0-2, losing to Oberlin and Brooklyn . ... Rocky River lost a tough match to GLC front-runner Holy Name in five sets Sept. 12 but jumps two spots after picking up three wins . ... Bay and Elyria round out the Crop, going 1-1 and 2-3 on the week, respectively. Note: Records as of Sept. 12.
Conference Stripes Division, good for fourth place. The Raiders travel to Fairview (9-2, 5-0) Sept. 14 to take on the first-place Warriors.
Notable performances from this week in area high school volleyball:
• Elyria went 1-2 at the Westlake Quad on Sept. 9. The Pioneers defeated Westlake and lost to Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and Clay.
Chelsey Farris had 27 kills and seven blocks on the day, Alison Guerini had 38 digs and Haley Schultz had 24 assists and seven aces.
• North Ridgeville picked up two straight wins this week after having not won since the season opener Aug. 22.
In a win over North Olmsted Sept. 7, Kara Sullinger had 20 digs, 21 assists, four blocks and nine kills for the Rangers. Jami Turay added 15 kills and five blocks.
In a nonconference win over Elyria Catholic on Sept. 9, Sullinger had 23 assists, 16 digs and three aces while Turay had eight kills and three blocks for North Ridgeville.
• Brookside got its first PAC win Sept. 7 against Stars Division foe Firelands.
The defending division champion Cardinals were led by Lindsey Miller with nine kills, two aces, four blocks (two solo) and 22 assists. Miranda Rothman added 10 kills, two aces and a block while Baylee Min had 21 digs.