Windsor Pulls Out Home Win Over Bement

JOHN CURTIS - Daily Union Sports Editor

On the official opening night of the volleyball season, Windsor, which had already played two matches and won both, pulled out a home court win over Bement, 25-22, 25-23.

However, had it been opening night of the playoffs, the Blue Devils, which made it all the way to the sectional semifinals last year, could just as easily have been 1 and done.

By the end of the match, the Devils had some inspiring plays and their top hitter and Daily Union Athlete of the week, Haley Maxwell, had swung for eight kills and three blocks, again. However, for most of the match, play on both sides was uninspiring. Bement had more intensity and bigger swings from their hitters in a Game 1 where neither team ever took control.

The scoring was back and forth early, then the teams tied at 5-5. They also were tied at 6-6, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 15-15, 16-16, and 17-17. Bement took a lead at 18-17, then Haley Maxwell blocked a shot, it came back and she swung for a kill, 18-18. The teams were tied at 19-19, 20-20 and 21-21. At 23-22 Windsor, Bement missed a kill and Tierra Becker served an ace for the Devil, 25-22, win.

Windsor avoided a complete let down in Game 2, repeating their 2-game sweeps of Okaw Valley and Lovington from last week. However, they had to catch up at 7-7 (thanks to Bement mistakes) after starting out trailing 6-2. They got a 6-point lead, 15-9, then let Bement back into it, 20-17. Windsor had to call time.

Windsor's Hannah Cole, who had a sub-par night hitting, finally rose to the occasion and made some blocks down the stretch. Even then, missed setter tips and gutsy Bement’s refusal to go away, made it a 1-point game at 23-22 Windsor. After replaying a point that could have made it 23-23, Bement swung long and Cole had match-point at the line, 24-22. Her bad night continued with a service error long and it was 24-23. On the next point, Maxwell got a chance to end it and did, with a kill.

Maxwell led the way with eleven net points (8 kills, 3 blocks) and Cole came up with a team-high five blocks. Amber Groves had four kills and took most of the swings in Game 1 from the outside. She also had a team high 11 digs, as the only double-digit performer.

“Haley did a nice job, offensively, hitting .429,” said Windsor coach Lori Bennett. “Amber Groves handled a ton of serve-receive balls and had 19 swings. She provided us with a lot of stability tonight from all areas...serve receive, offense and defense.”

Tierra Becker had a team-2nd five kills, scoring from outside swings and setter tips. Barbara Blackburn had a team-high seven assists and Becker had four. However, despite 23 Devil kills, there were just 11 assists. There were very few “dig, set, kill” plays from the Devils in this match. It was not a well-oiled transition from defense to scoring. Nevertheless, Coach Bennett was glad to see the girls work for their third straight win.

“Tonight was a good effort by everyone on our team,” Coach Bennett said. “We worked very hard and earned the win tonight. Bement is a nice team with some good ball control players, who also take some big swings at the ball offensively. They made us earn it tonight. Game 2 was once again more challenging, but the girls responded very well after time-outs. We have worked hard since last week on communication and ball control, as well as swinging for kills. I was happy to see that work show in our match tonight. If we work as hard every day, as we did tonight, who knows how good we will be in a month.”

Windsor (3-0), plays another non-conference match on Thursday, but this time it is at a bigger Okaw Valley Conference school, Sullivan. Windsor’s undefeated record against LOVC schools will be tested by the Redskins, who defeated Okaw Valley in Bethany on Tuesday, 25-17, 25-23

Varsity

Windsor def. Bement 25-22, 25-23

Windsor stats: Haley Maxwell 8 kills, 3 blocks, 2 digs, 2 aces; Hannah Cole 1 kills, 5 blocks, 2 digs, 1 ace; Amber Groves 4 kills, 1 blocks, 11 Digs, 1 ace; Brianna Groves 1 block, 7 digs,; Barbara Blackburn 2 kills, 7 assists, 1 dig; Tierra Becker 5 kills, 4 assists, 5 digs, 1 ace; Shay Orsborn 1 kill, 2 digs

Windsor JV def. Bement Jv 25-14, 25-15

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