The Garfield G-Men girls’ volleyball team has designs on making sure its final season in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier is a resounding success. The G-Men remained undefeated in league play when they swept league foe Champion 26-24, 25-22, 25-17 last Thursday evening in Warren.
“We did win 3-0 but we battled back in the first two sets to win those two, so we came from behind and although we started out a little slow, but we were able to find our rhythm,” said Coach Ali Roach.
According to the eight-year coach, Garfield (2-1, 2-0) has unfinished business to take care of in its final season as a member of the MVAC Grey Tier. The G-Men narrowly missed out on snagging a share of the league championship last year, falling one game short in the loss column to reigning champion Crestview.
“I do think that it gives them a little bit more fire this year and they know now that is within reach because for a while Crestview was that team that we could not get by and now that we were able to perform last year and get them in one match gives us a little bit of confidence this year,” added Roach.
On Thursday, the G-Men battled Champion in some highly contested matches, ultimately prevailing with a 3-0 sweep but Roach said that the sweep was anything but simple.
In the first set, Garfield trailed 23-21 against the Golden Flashes but responded with a 3-0 run, highlighted by an ace by junior defensive setter/libero Payton Soltis and a kill by senior outside hitter Charlee Hill, pushing Garfield ahead 24-23.
Champion evened the score as Soltis committed a serving error, sending the set into extra points. Roach said that although Garfield squandered an opportunity to close out the set, the G-Men’s confidence was still high because of how hard they had already worked to come back.
Junior middle hitter Lola Lake recorded two consecutive kills, sealing the comeback victory.
The G-Men junior, who has taken on more responsibility in the front row in the wake of Mandy Cardinal’s graduation, tallied 15 kills.
“Lola Lake has stepped up, she has been our middle hitter for a couple of years with Mandy, so she has taken on a bigger role getting more sets like that,” noted Roach.
In the second set, Champion once again enjoyed a fast start, building a 17-10 lead in the middle of the set and took 21-15 lead, just four points away from clinching a victory.
Garfield stayed resilient, outscoring the Golden Flashes 10-1 to stage another thrilling comeback, fueled by Soltis’ strong service game. Roach added that the G-Men played in some long rallies but almost always engineered the point-winning shot to stay alive.
In the first two sets, Roach acknowledged that the G-Men’s hitting percentage was below average but although Garfield’s shots weren’t landing, the defense remained stout as Garfield finished the match with 83 digs.
“I feel like they have great attitudes and want to win and have that competitive drive and you don’t get that with every team,” noted Roach. “I love seeing that with my players this season. We lost a big hitter for us after last season so incorporating a stronger defense on our end is really going to help us this season.”
The G-Men took an early lead in the third set and never relinquished control, cruising to a 25-17 victory to collect their second league victory.
Although the G-Men graduated three starters from last year’s squad, they still have a wealth of experience with Soltis, Lake, junior setter/outside hitter Tenley Korosec and junior middle hitter Leah Hill all receiving significant varsity time.
Roach said that Garfield is fueled by a strong junior class, with only one sophomore on the roster in outside hitter/setter Bella Wright, but the returning experience has this year’s squad enjoying a strong start to the season.
“They come in and earn their spot every year and I do feel like having the experience from last year has been nice because the comfort on the court looks different,” she added.
Following a road duel against MVAC Grey Tier rival Southeast on Tuesday evening and a home match against league foe Liberty on Thursday night, Garfield will return to the court to face Lake Center Christian in a road match at Hartville on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.
