BELLBROOK — A typical sports contest between Bellbrook and Valley View in most any sport will almost always end up as a close battle to the finish.
Just not this time.
Host Bellbrook swept the visiting Valley View Spartans by scores of 25-8, 25-4, 25-20 in an Aug. 27 match.
Golden Eagles coach Lynzee Allen said a three-set home loss to Tippecanoe on Saturday, combined with a home battle against a long-time Southwestern Buckeye League rival in Valley View, may have helped provide some added motivation for her team on Tuesday.
“We came off a big loss, where we didn’t play up to our level, on Saturday. And we had a very intense practice on Monday,” Allen said. “We ran some of our best offense tonight, we ran some of our best defense tonight … We can be tough when the pieces all fall together. And tonight, they fell together.”
It wasn’t just one Golden Eagle who was doing the damage, either.
Unofficially, junior Elana Heebsh led Bellbrook in kills with 10, sophomore Mallory Gedeon hit four kills and had two blocked shots, Rachel Cordonnier had three kills and two blocks, and McKenna Melton had four kills to go with a block.
Bellbrook’s service game appeared to quickly put the Spartans on their heels as well.
Lindsey Ulrig and Emily Weslow smacked two aces each, Ashley Frantz recorded an ace, while junior Megan Kwik fired three aces and had several serves that the Spartans struggled to return.
“She served the ball out of the gym today,” Allen said of Kwik. “She’s a very consistent server, but she’s also a very consistent player for us. For a lot of these girls, it’s their first time on varsity and they’re really stepping it up.”
Bellbrook is now 3-1 overall, and 2-0 in the SWBL. They’ll host Eaton in another league matchup at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29 for their next contest.
Spartans coach Danyel Bowman wouldn’t make excuses for her team’s play. She said her team’s improved play in the third game wasn’t due to any strategic moves from the bench.
“We didn’t change anything. We’ve just gotta come out and play our game,” Bowman said. “We do a lot of things in practice to prepare for games. Now we’ve just gotta come out and execute in the match.”
Senior Jacqueline Fox and sophomore Claire Henson led the Spartans (2-4, 1-1 SWBL) with three kills each. Senior Katie Kerr finished with a kill, a block and a service ace.
The two SWBL foes will meet up again on Oct. 8 in Germantown.
