Five-set matches have not been kind to Bradford volleyball so far this season.
For the second time in as many weeks, the Lady Owls lost a back-and-forth five-set volleyball match, this time at the hands of St. Marys. The Lady Dutch defeated Bradford 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 15-10 at Bradford High on Thursday night.
Just like Bradford’s five-set loss to Otto-Eldred last Monday, the Lady Owls started out strong. Bradford won the first set, and after a setback in the second, found its footing again to take a 2-1 lead after three.
After that, the Lady Dutch (2-4) looked like an entirely different team. The mistakes that they made early on in the night were erased and every long rally and close call seemed to go St. Marys’ way.
“We had 10 service errors in the first four games,” St. Marys head coach Ken Vogt. “We cleaned that up and we also received the ball a lot better than we had in previous matches. I told the girls that if we cleaned up those errors we would have a chance to win every game we were in.”
Bradford coach Steve Daniels had his own thoughts as to why the tide of the game turned to the Dutch’s favor.
“The difference in the last two games was team; St. Marys was a team tonight,” Daniels said. “They fired on all cylinders from the right side, outside, middle and that’s what wins in five.”
Fast starts also helped the Dutch over the final two sets. In the fourth, St. Marys went up 13-5, and then came out with a 10-3 advantage in the fifth. Although Bradford made both of those sets close, strong serves from the Lady Dutch prevented a full comeback.
Kali Tarle led the Dutch with 13 kills, and Cassie Vavala logged eight kills and nine blocks.
“Kali on the outside is our go-to player and she played real well tonight,” Vogt said. “We’ve been dealing with injuries but we are finally healthy this week so hopefully that catapults onto bigger and better things.”
Laney Kahle had 23 assists, Brittany Rounsville recorded 10 digs, and Alexis Huber made 14 kills to lead the Lady Owls.
Daniels highlighted the play of Rounsville and fellow defensive specialist Erica Marshall (five digs) for keeping the match close.
“Alexis and Laney had huge games for us today,” the first-year head coach said. “Our defensive specialists also made plays that kept us going.”
The loss sent Bradford to 3-4 on the season. After beginning the year 2-0, the Lady Owls have struggled to stay consistent.
With just a day to prepare until Saturday’s Clarion Tournament, Daniels is hoping that a mindset change on the court can send the Owls back to their winning ways.
“We do need to be a little bit more consistent” he said. “We have to get our focus back, which is playing like a team. Six individuals do not do it on the volleyball court. Unfortunately a lot of teams believe that one individual does it, but when you’ve got six working together there’s no stopping it.”
These two teams will square off again on Oct. 23 at St. Marys.
