BELLBROOK — Coach Lynzee Allen’s Bellbrook girls varsity volleyball team can’t win the Southwestern Buckeye League’s Southwestern division title, but they can do the next best thing: Win out.
That’s the goal, as the Golden Eagles aim to win their final regular season matches of 2019.
So far, they’re doing just that.
Since a five-set loss to division leader Eaton back on Sept. 17, Bellbrook hasn’t lost. Tuesday’s straight-set 25-13, 25-16, 25-15 win over visiting Oakwood was the team’s fifth straight win.
Senior Emily Weslow recorded six kills and eight service aces. Sophomore hitter Rachel Cordonnier smacked seven kills.
“I think that we served the ball really really well,” Allen said. “We served very aggressively, and I think that took Oakwood out of their rhythm. They couldn’t get the ball to their two main hitters, so that helped us. They made a lot of hitting errors, too.”
With the win, Bellbrook is now 11-7 overall and 6-3 in the SWBL Southwestern division. Oakwood falls to 1-8, 0-6 SWBL Southwestern. The Jills will next host Valley View on Oct. 1.
“We know we can’t get first place, so we hope to win out and get second,” Allen said. “We want to win out. We’ve got Fairmont and Northmont, two really good Division I teams still on the schedule (plus Franklin and Valley View), so we will have our work cut out for us, but I know we can do it.”
Allen credited Lindsey Ulring with a great game as the team’s setter, and said Weslow continues to be a solid all-around player. The veteran coach played an all underclassman lineup for much of the final set. She said she’s changed her coaching strategy this season as well.
“I’ve been kind of a loud coach, and so I’ve had to back off my intensity and just let them play. And they usually play really well when I do that,” she said. “Hopefully, that continues.”
According to Allen, Bellbrook has a scheduled date with Northmont among one of the team’s final matches. That match is not currently listed on the SWBL website nor on Northmont’s league webpage, however. Allen has Bellbrook hosting Franklin for the team’s final home contest next, a 6:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Oct. 3. The SWBL website lists Bellbrook playing at Monroe on Wednesday, Sept. 25, then the home contest with Franklin with final road games at Kettering Fairmont (Oct. 5) and at Valley View (Oct 8).