The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Comets win four of five sets to defeat Sailors
The Amherst Comets defeated the Vermilion Sailors in four out of five sets en route to their third win of the season. Joe Magill has the details from the match.
Typically, the way a team starts a competition is the way it finishes the competition.
So, when veteran Amherst volleyball coach Laurie Cogan saw her team battle to win a tight first set and then drop the second set to visiting non-conference foe Vermilion on Aug. 24, she realized it was make-it or break-it time.
“I thought our kids started a little sluggish this morning,” said Cogan, in her 29th season at the helm. “When we went into set three, I told the kids, ‘It’s really up to you, but if you don’t self-energize and bring the team chemistry together, you’re probably not going to get out of here with the outcome you’re looking for.’ We just needed to be a little more energetic and play with a little more passion than what we started with.”
That’s exactly what the Comets did, sweeping the next two sets to win the match by the scores of 2521, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18. Amherst has yet to lose in this young season with a record of 3-0, while the Sailors dropped to 2-2.
“A lot of teams will finish how they start,” Cogan continued. “So, I will give my team credit. They amped it up. Once we got to set three, they played at a completely different energy level. I think that made our play overall much better, and that allowed us to win the match.”
Amherst was led by Laken Voss, who topped all players with 21 kills, 13 in the final two sets. The sophomore never leaves the floor, switching to setter when she isn’t on the front line. She and Amaya Melendez combined for 35 assists, with Melendez leading the way with 18 — many of them on passes to Voss.
“I thought Laken Voss was outstanding,” Cogan said. “She pretty much is our everything. We follow her as a team. She has to be on for us to be successful.”
The third set was the Laken Voss show right from the beginning. She had powerful kills on three of her team’s first four points and finished the set with seven kills. The Comets took an early lead, but Vermilion fought back to trail by just one, 1817. Amherst then ran off the last seven points of the set, with Melendez serving and Voss providing two more kills.
“Today’s match was great,” Voss said.
“We had great team chemistry and our energy was super-high. I think our energy pulled out the match for us.”
The fourth set was almost a mirror-image of the third, with two Voss kills helping the Comets to an early lead. With Jenna Peters hitting consecutive kills that landed on the end line, the Sailors battled back to take a 7-5 lead. Amherst then went on a 7-1 run with Roslyn Hancock serving, including two service winners. Vermilion fought gamely and came back to trail by just one, 13-12, but the Comets gradually pulled away to clinch the victory.
“Amherst is a perennial powerhouse in Lorain County, if not Northern Ohio,” Vermilion coach Bob Eis said. “They always have a great program. Laurie has built a great tradition. So, for us to sit there and compete with them, take a set from them, and do the things we do, I think that’s huge for us.”
Peters, a sophomore, had a strong all-around game with 14 kills and 17 digs. Half of her kills came in the one set that Vermilion won. Senior Mary Carosella led the way with 15 kills and 19 digs. Sophomore setter Hallie Habermehl had 40 assists and six service points.
“If anything, I think we proved that we can compete, we can play,” Eis said. “I’m just proud of my kids. We’re young, and we’re going to make those mistakes. We have to live with it. But the experience we’re gaining with the teams we’re playing is enormous.”