Brian Hagberg
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Sheffield volleyball rebounded from its first loss in nine games with a win against visiting Youngsville Tuesday.
(Photo courtesy Jena Albaugh. Sheffield’s Lynzie Grubbs goes up for a kill while Youngsville’s Andrea Sveda attempts to block during their match at Sheffield High School, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. The Wolverines topped the Eagles, 3-1.)
The Wolverines rolled early, then fought off an attempted Eagles comeback, to pick up the 25-12, 25-15, 19-25 and 25-19 victory.
“We played very well the first two sets,” Sheffield coach Melissa Lemay said. “We were effectively running our offense . . . (and) we played good defense.”
Sheffield (11-2) looked very much like the team that won nine straight through the first two sets. The Wolverines started having issues passing the ball in the third set, and the Eagles quickly took advantage.
“Poor passing leads to setting issues, which inevitably leads to timid attack tendencies,” Lemay said. “Giving the ball back to a team like Youngsville that likes to swing from all areas of the court, is ill advised. They started getting more aggressive and took advantage of some poor attitudes that were displayed on our side of the net.”
(Photo courtesy Jena Albaugh. Sheffield’s Kassidy Orinko (2) and Lexi Goldthwaite (15) try to block the kill of Youngsville’s Kenzie Olewine during their match at Sheffield High School, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. Sheffield defeated Youngsville, 3-1.)
The final set was close throughout, but Sheffield was able to pull away late to secure the match.
“Set 4 was a battle, but in the end, we were able to win the match,” Lemay said.
Kassidy Orinko led the Sheffield attack with nine kills and 15 digs. Emily Leichtenberger had eight kills, 11 digs and four aces while Lynzie Grubbs added seven kills and five blocks.
Kadence Steffan ran the offense with 21 assists. Lexi Goldthwaite chipped in eight assists and two kills. Annabel Sheldon had 11 digs.
(Photo courtesy Jena Albaugh. Sheffield’s Emily Leichtenberger goes for a kill during a match against Youngsville Tuesday.)
Andrea Sveda led the Eagles with a double-double, 16 kills and 11 digs. She also served up a pair of aces. Kenzie Olewine had 12 digs and four kills and Jena Wilson had 28 assists, 10 digs and an ace.
Sheffield won the junior varsity match, 25-12 and 25-21.
Emily Foster had five kills and Maddy Roell had five digs in the win.
“Syrena Antonuccio served very well, racking up four aces in a string of 10 straight serves,” Lemay said.
