GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Keating, Troy romp Troy Athens in three sets
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY — An overmatched but upstart Troy Athens girls volleyball team was tied with favored Troy 7-7 in the first game of their rivalry match.
Troy senior Hope Keating made sure that was as close as the visiting Red Hawks would get.
Keating’s 12-point serving streak helped spark a dominant Troy effort in a sweep of Athens, 25-10, 25-19, 25-21.
“We worked on thinking that they didn’t have as many seniors as we have, so we needed to play at our top level and keep playing our best at all times in all situations,” Keating said.
Though the Red Hawks’ offense couldn’t muster much against Troy, Athens stayed afloat early because of two Troy hitting errors and two service errors. Once Keating put together a long run, it was all over. Her streak encompassed two time-outs, but every serve was strong.
“That’s the one thing you can control,” Keating said.
She threw Athens off with a high, floating serve that landed in between the front and back lines. The Red Hawks couldn’t generate a formidable response to it.
“If we serve a short ball in a [front-row position], it’s going to take a hitter zone out,” Troy coach Vince Muscat said. “It just makes it easier for the blockers.”
With that serve, Troy could attack pretty much however it wanted, so the Colts sprinkled the sets around. Senior setter Lindsay Moeller finished with 33 assists, 13 in the first game.
Keating added two kills in her serving run, as did junior Olivia Parks. Lexie Pullen had a kill and two blocks to highlight the run.
“She just was unstoppable,” Muscat said. “Probably the best match she’s had with me as a coach. She needs to get a good start, and once she’s into it, she’s tough to stop.
“She’s the x-factor. If teams can commit to her, or at least realize she’s a threat, then that opens up our pin-to-pin offense.”
Keating’s run made it 19-7, and after Athens took the ball back for a point, Pullen smashed down a kill and then went to serve. Parks and senior Marcela Sanabria added kills to make it 24-8, and the final was 24-10.
After the Red Hawks tied the game at 7-7, Muscat was pleased by his team’s domination.
“Every rivalry game brings out the best in teams, especially the underdog team,” Muscat said. “I thought we saw that with them when it was 7-7 early on, and we just had to calm down and make sure we were putting the pressure on them.”
“We were so excited that we just needed to calm our nerves and play the way we know we can play as a team,” Keating said.
The 18-3 run took the air out of Athens a bit, but the final two games weren’t as lopsided. The Colts took the second game 25-19, with Keating serving up two aces and Pullen three kills. Senior Nicole Hahn’s kill finished off the game.
The Red Hawks made the third game close when Troy made substitutions. Parks put down six kills to help give the Colts a 22-12 lead, but Athens rallied and made it 24-21 before Troy finished it off.
Keating finished with five kills and three aces, and Pullen added six kills and three blocks. Parks led the team with 14 kills.
(Jake Lourim is a junior at Troy High School and a member of the S.H.P. Media Group / www.northoaklandsports.com Student Correspondence Program. He is publisher of website www.troycoltsportsupdate.com and a member of the Troy school newspaper editorial staff. He can be reached by e-mail at j.lourim@comcast.net)
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