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Unbeatens fall at Stow
By Jim Jicha
At the start of the Stow Invitational Hilliard Darby, Lakewood St. Edward and Stow all had unblemished records. After the final point went down nobody was undefeated, as the teams took turns beating each other in three exciting three-game matches that had fans on the edges of their seats.
First it was Darby’s turn to stop an unbeaten as the Panthers knocked off host Stow 15-12, 15-15, 15-11.
Darby got off to an 11-4 lead in game one. The Panther’s Jason Martin served six points in a row, including two aces, to fuel the spurt. But after Darby got to game point at 14-6, things got interesting. Stow scored four points on three Darby spikes that were out followed by a Panther lift. After a kill by 6’7” middle hitter Ben Spurlock and a dump from setter Justin Hengle the score was 14-12. Outside hitter John Harrison got a kill to preserve the win for Darby.
Darby jumped back on top in game two with a 10-6 lead. Stow rallied to take the lead, with Spurlock scoring on a kill, breaking serve on another kill, getting two points on blocks, and crunching a Panther overpass. Darby also was called for a rotation violation during the rally. The teams battled to ties at 12, 13, 14, and 15. Bulldog Collin Springer then got three straight kills for a service break and the final two points.
Game three started off like game one with Hilliard racing to an 8-1 lead. Stow closed the gap to 12-10 and 13-11. Darby got an ace serve from Mark Traetow, and won when a Stow hit was wide.
St. Edward’s turn came next, with the Eagles toppling Darby 11-15, 15-8, 15-11.
St. Ed raced to a 6-0 lead behind the spikes of Conor Martin and Andy Pompei, and the serving of Sean Martin. But after a service break, Darby retorted with eight unanswered points. After two more brief St. Ed leads, Darby pulled away for the win on three Eagle errors and a block by Brian Welsh.
Momentum seemed to be going the Panthers way in game 2 as they got off to a 7-4 lead. But things unraveled quickly. A combination of Hilliard errors, some timely tips by outside hitter Chris Kettel, and kills by Conor Martin, led to Darby’s downfall.
Darby moved out to leads of 4-0 and 10-6 in the finale, behind kills by Welsh and another ace by Traetow. Then St. Ed scored five unanswered point to take control. The Panthers broke serve on a kill by Welsh, and tied it after a long volley punctuated by great digs on both sides. After a lift call on the Panthers, St. Ed went ahead for good on a smash by Conor Martin. Darby got one more point, then Conor Martin nailed a kill for a service break. The next two Darby hits were out and the Panthers were no longer undefeated.
Then it was Stow’s turn as the Bulldogs knocked St. Edward from the ranks of the unbeaten 15-9, 13-15, 15-13. A full game report is not available. Stow was carried by the solid play of middle hitters Ben Spurlock and Kevin Cawley, and right side hitter Colin Springer.
This coming weekend Stow and Hilliard Darby could meet again, as both teams will participate in Worthington Kilbourne’s Wolf Classic. Stow travels to St. Edward for a single match on May 6.
Stow Invitational
Stow def. Cleveland St. Ignatius 15-6,
13-15, 15-8
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