Volleyball: Lady Tigers win streak now at 4 consecutive matches

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GALION — Make it four wins in a row for Galion, including three this week alone.

The week started with a victory over Margaretta in a 5-set thriller (See story on page 8) and continued with a pair of conference wins.

The Lady Tigers (4-1, 3-0 MOAC) swept Clear For in Mid Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball action on Tuesday evening to keep their streak intact. Galion prevailed 25-20, 25-19, 25-17.

The orange and blue followed up that victory with a 3-1 takedown of Shelby on Thursday evening. The Lady Tigers knocked off the Lady Whippets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-27, 25-15, to remain undefeated in MOAC play.

The match against Clear Fork was a scrappy affair with the Lady Colts hanging around in each set. Galion head coach Kathleen Davis said she shook up the lineup somewhat to allow more players to get match experience.

“We tried to rotate some kids in that don’t normally play, just trying to get them some experience and let them get the feel of the game,” Davis said. “I always try to do that because if anybody gets hurt then I’m forced to throw someone in at a crucial time. Tonight we tried a couple of different things, but I think overall the girls learned to adjust to what was happening. They were probably tighter than what we wanted them to be, but we worked it out.”

Galion jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first set, but Clear Fork managed to pull to within three points (21-18) before the Lady Tigers picked up the win late. A serving error by the Lady Colts gave Galion its winning point.

The second set was tightly contested with neither team able to build more than a 3-point lead until Galion went on a 4-1 run to close it out and win by six points. Unforced errors by both sides kept the set close.

“We had eight missed serves, which is a lot of points to give up to a team that is scrappy like Clear Fork,” Davis said. “That’s something we need to clean up.”

Galion led from first serve to final point in the third set. The Lady Tigers rolled out to a 9-1 lead and extended their advantage to as many as 12 points. Clear Fork made a run late to cut the deficit to six points, but got no closer than 23-17 before Galion tacked on the winning points.

Ashley Dyer, Jillian Capretta, and Madelyn Scheiber had 10 kills each to pace the Lady Tigers attack. Ella Payne recorded 3 kills while Jordan Roderick and Miranda Stone each contributed 2 kills.

Jillian Capretta had 3 blocks to lead Galion. Hailey Young and Reagan Ivy recorded 1 block each.

Ady Monk recorded a team-best 16 digs. Ella Payne finished with 15 digs. Madelyn Scheiber added 9 digs. Skyleigh Young had 6 digs. Dyer finished with 5 digs.

Clear Fork head coach Leigh Jackson said she was pleased with her team’s effort against Galion.

“We’re trying to change the culture of the program,” said Jackson, who is in her first year as head coach. “I think they’re starting to buy in to the hard work, the discipline, and what never giving up means. That was awesome tonight. I’m so proud of them. I was looking at our scores from last year when we played Galion and we didn’t score more than 15 points. I told them that we have to learn how to limit our errors because we missed four or five serves in both the first and the second games and we lost by five. It’s those little things that we have to tweak to get better.”

Upcoming schedule

Galion has three matches on the schedule following the Labor Day weekend break. The Lady Tigers travel to Ontario on Tuesday, Sept. 7 then return home Thursday, Sept. 9 to face Highland. Galion rounds out the week with a visit to Ashland Crestview on Saturday, Sept. 11.

Galion’s Ady Monk serves the ball during a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball match against Clear Fork on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The Lady Tigers swept the Lady Colts and then defeated Shelby on Thursday to win their fourth consecutive match.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/09/web1_b-083121j-CF-at-GHS-vb_0070-1.jpgGalion’s Ady Monk serves the ball during a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball match against Clear Fork on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The Lady Tigers swept the Lady Colts and then defeated Shelby on Thursday to win their fourth consecutive match. Don Tudor | AIM Media Midwest
Galion nets 3 wins this week

By Andrew Carter

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