Match photos click here.
Like fine instrumental music, watching good teams battle in sporting events can be relaxing and exciting at the same time, traveling through the mind with great smoothness and building to powerful finishes.
Such was the case Oct. 3 in the volleyball matchup between the visiting Kenston Bombers and the Chardon Hilltoppers. Both teams are in great shape heading toward the season’s regular end and start of tournament, and their skill sets were clear all night as Chardon rallied late in the match to take a thrilling 3-2 victory in Western Reserve Conference action.
In a match that lasted nearly three hours of actual playing time, the teams, which are near-mirror images of each other, battled through 42 ties and 40 lead changes before the Hilltoppers caught fire midway through the fifth set.
Senior setter Abby Kolcum came up to serve and fired home seven straight points to give her team an 11-9 lead. Six ties and six more lead changes got the teams to match point, and in a volley that saw the ball cross the net several times, as it had most of the night, Chardon junior Aubrey Fetchik blocked a kill attempt for the final point and the win, sending Bomber fans home drained of energy.
Set scores of 22-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-12, and the final 20-18 indicate clearly how well and closely this match was played out.
Kenston Head Coach Christian Jolley summed it up this way at the end of the night: “We’re having a good season because we have played a tough schedule. To be among the best teams, you must play against the top teams, too, and Chardon, and our league in general, fit that bill well. Chardon is playing well right now after a rough start, and they got hot at the end of this match tonight and made the plays to win, it’s that simple.”
Chardon had the upper hand in momentum in the early sets. Serving got them points in the first set, with a total of six points from Addison Koppelman leading the way. Also the top Topper at the nets, the junior had a huge night in every phase of the game, but she didn’t do it alone.
Emily Grubich of Kenston was the only Bomber to score serving points in the first set, serving up 15.
As both teams provided defensive highlights of Olympic proportions all night long — with bodies flying back and forth for impossible returns and hits — there was no lack of anything for fans.
The Bombers were led by a trio of hitters who got the ball down often. Avari Amstutz, a junior, led the way with 24 kills for point on the night, and added seven blocks as well. Sophomore Jetta Cornell got 15 kills down, and senior Sadie Poudevigne added 16 as she prepared to become the Kenston Homecoming Queen the next night at the football game against Mayfield.
For the Hilltoppers, Kolcum was all over the floor keeping the Bomber cannon shots alive while scoring 11 points serving, and the rest of the junior class for Head Coach Bryan Sutton was right there as well.
Addison Koppelman was the main power source with 19 kills for point and a pair of blocks. When the Hilltoppers seemed to be running out of gas late in the match, two straight power shots to the middle of the floor in that fifth set provided the energy boost her team needed.
“It’s just amazing to play in this environment with these girls,” she said. “Kenston’s always a good team, they beat us last time, so winning tonight was also a great moment for our program.
“The key for us is to bring the same energy all the time. We had a slow moment late in the match, but we got our wind back when it was needed.”
With predominantly underclassmen, these teams will be top-notch next year, too.
“As a team, it doesn’t matter what year of school we are in, it comes down to working as a unit and being the first ones to do our jobs on every play,” Grubich said.
No doubt she got that idea from a certain Kenston football coach who is her father. She said it all with a smile on her face.
This match was one for the future memories of parents and players alike. It all came down to total team efforts, much like the music Booker T. and the MG’s have practiced together and delivered audiences for half a century.
