Brian Hagberg
RUSSELL, Pa. – After cruising to a first-set win, Eisenhower had to work harder to secure the final two sets on its way to a 3-0 (25-5, 25-20, 25-21) sweep over Tidioute Community Charter School.
Rewatch the match:
The Knights raced out to a 14-2 lead in the first set and never looked back on their way to a 20-point victory.
The Bulldogs weren’t going to make the rest of the match so easy.
TCCS scored the first four points of the second set and led by as much as six at points throughout the set.
Eisenhower came back to tie multiple times but didn’t take its first lead until the Knights went ahead 20-19 after a Caroline Smyth ace. Smyth finished with a pair of aces and four kills to earn Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Match honors.
“I think we went in and saw how, I don’t want to say easy, but saw what we could do and just let up a little bit,” Smyth said in her Cole Orthodontic Associates postgame interview. “I’m really thankful that we’re such a good team, and we do work together really well, and we kept our energy up.”
See Smyth’s full Cole Orthodontic Associates postgame interview:
Eisenhower went on to take the set, 25-20.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to take full control of the set. Eisenhower pulled away late for a 25-21 win and the 3-0 sweep.
Marissa Gourley had five blocks for the Knights.
“Carley Christianson had a solid game playing as back row setter and opposite hitter,” Eisenhower coach Lori Pascuzzi said. “The girls are starting to come together and work as a team.”
Alicia Sabella had 10 digs for the Bulldogs. Brooksten Fors had seven digs, three kills, and three aces, Katelyn Hart had four digs and three kills, and Marlee Nuttall had four digs, two kills, and a block.
Zaynah Gardner ran the offense with eight assists to go along with two aces, two digs, and a kill.
