MEDFORD VOLLEYBALL INVITE - Raiders fall short in last match; Pirates learn from tough matches

The Medford Raiders put themselves in position to win their season-opening volleyball invitational for the second straight year, but they were denied in their last match Tuesday by an impressive squad from Stanley-Boyd, who went on to take this year’s title at Raider Hall. The Orioles, behind the powerful hitting duo of junior Kelly Lew and freshman Amanda Lew took down the Raiders 25-18, 25-22 in their round-four match, which ultimately was the decisive contest in the five-round tournament. Things did get interesting in the last round as Columbus Catholic nearly forced a three-way tie at the top, but Stanley-Boyd rallied for a 22-25, 25-18, 15-12 win to go 4-0 for the day. Medford, playing just hours before the team took off for a trip to the Orlando Fall Classic in Florida, swept Athens, Columbus Catholic and Gilman in its first three matches. Gilman went winless in the tournament as an opportunity to get its last match with Athens slipped away in a 2-1 loss. Both local teams saw Tuesday’s tournament as a good starting point to build from. “I think as we just continue to grow and get comfortable with each other, good things will happen,” Medford head coach Ashley Jochimsen-McCarron said. “I think we did well for our first tournament,” Medford senior Aliyah Pilgrim said. “We’re definitely still working some things out, but for our first tournament it was pretty good.” “Though we didn’t come away with a win, I think the girls were competitive as we work with new starters, new rotations and new positions,” Gilman head coach Janice Komanec said. “We graduated six starters and our only returning starter, Allie Olynick, is in a new role for us as she plays all the way around and hits front right. I think our girls learned a lot. They saw a pace and level of volleyball that they want to reach. Our biggest goals are to build consistency and confidence.” Medford’s day Opening with Athens in round one, other than falling behind 3-0 in game one, the host Raiders were in control throughout. An 8-0 run quickly wiped out that early deficit and eventually got out to a 19-9 lead following a Sophia Steinman ace and a kill from Avery Losiewicz, who was making her varsity debut. Another Losiewicz kill stopped a run that pulled Athens within 20-17. Pilgrim served an ace and Kayla Baumgartner had two kills to cap off a 25-20 win. In game two, Medford stretched out to a 17-8 lead following a Baumgartner kill and 18-9 after a Kailyn Haenel block. Athens again made a little run, closing within 20-16 when Losiewicz got a winner, Pilgrim served two aces and Taylor Klingbeil got a kill to finish off the Blue Jays at 25-17. Klingbeil and Baumgartner had seven kills each in the win and Losiewicz had six. Arndt, Medford’s setter in its 5-1 offense, had 21 assists. Pilgrim had six aces, while Ruthie Steinman and Baumgartner had two each. Rylee Hraby had five digs and Laney Hraby had three. The Raiders won a good match with Columbus Catholic in round two. They trailed the first set 16-13, but then scored four points, capped by a Baumgartner ace, to take the lead. A Losiewicz kill, a Baumgartner kill off a block and a Laney Hraby ace opened up a 21-18 lead. The Dons tied it with the next three points, Losiewicz’s line kill and two Klingbeil winners, though, helped seal a 25-22 Medford win. Columbus Catholic’s Shelby Spata had three straight kills to put her team up 1714 in set two. But an Arndt ace, a deep roll from Haenel and a Baumgartner ace highlighted a 6-1 run that turned the set around. Klingbeil got a key block, Laney Hraby served another ace and Klingbeil pounded set point off a block to end it at 25-21. Baumgartner and Klingbeil had six kills each. Losiewicz had three. Arndt had 18 assists and the Hraby sisters each had five digs. “Rylee had a great day,” Jochimsen-McCarron said. “Laney with her reading and serving was on fire.” Gilman pushed Medford at times in both sets of round three, but the Raiders surged ahead midway through in both to win the match 2-0. The Pirates grabbed a quick 4-0 lead in the set and stretched that to 8-2 after an Aubrey Mann kill. With Arndt serving, Medford got five of those points back. The Raiders took their first lead at 13-12 on Baumgartner’s back row attack. A Mann kill made it 17-15 before the Raiders went on a clinching 8-4 spurt to win it 25-19. Unfortunately for Gilman, Reece Weir was lost for the rest of the day due to an ankle injury on set point. A kill from Addison Vick and an Aubrey Steinbach ace helped Gilman take an early 5-3 lead in set two. An Allison Olynick kill put the Pirates up 9-8 and Kylee Copenhaver’s tip gave them a 12-10 lead. The set turned on a big serving run from Pilgrim that included an ace, three points at the net from Klingbeil and a kill from Baumgartner that made it 19-14. Arndt added two late aces as Medford won it 25-18. Klingbeil and Baumgartner had four kills each. Klingbeil added three block kills. Haenel and Steinman also added two kills each. Arndt had 16 assists and seven digs. Baumgartner and Rylee Hraby had five digs each. Medford led game one against Stanley-Boyd 10-9 when the Orioles took control, tearing out to a 22-15 lead. An Ava Prahl ace ended it at 25-18. Klingbeil’s tip gave Medford a 15-12 lead in set two and Steinman’s block on Amanda Lew made it 17-14. But out of a timeout, the Orioles responded with six straight points. Medford got as close 23-21 and 24-22, but Stanley-Boyd sealed the match on the next point. Baumgartner and Klingbeil had three kills each. Baumgartner and Lainey Hraby had five digs each. Arndt had four to go with six assists. Gilman’s day Gilman came into the day with some anxiety after the Pirates struggled at the previous day’s scrimmages in Arcadia. Starting off Tuesday by facing Stanley-Boyd, the Pirates may not have won, but they gained some confidence with improved play over the day before. Gilman led the first set 8-4 after an Olynick kill and forged a 17-17 tie before a Kelly Lew kill got the Orioles going and they pulled away for a 25-19 win. A midgame run in set two opened up an 18-8 lead and the Orioles closed it out at 25-14. After a bye, Gilman suffered its loss to Medford. Columbus Catholic was next in round four. The Pirate had a 7-4 lead in the opening set, Columbus went on a run, Mann got a kill and a tip to help the Pirates hang close at 19-15, but the Dons eventually won it 25-17. Set two was tied 10-10, but the Dons went on another spurt to take the lead for good. Mann got two kills and Averie Olynick’s ace got it as close as 20-18 before a 5-1 run gave Gilman’s Eastern Cloverbelt Conference rival a 2519 win. The Pirates got off to a good start in their finale with Athens. Mann had a big match with several kills from the left side. Her hot start, plus a Copenhaver ace, made it 7-1 off the bat. Athens went ahead 8-7 and 10-8 before Gilman surged ahead 1812. Athens got within 20-19, but Gilman bounced back, getting a key back-row kill from Mann to win the set 25-21. Athens controlled set two from the start and won it 25-13 and carried the momentum into set three, taking leads of 8-2 and 11-4. The Pirates chipped away, getting an Olynick ace and a kill from Norah Noonan, who got more court time with Weir’s absence, to get within 11-9. Noonan got another kill but Athens did not give up the lead and won the set 15-10. “I am grateful for the level of competition we saw on Monday at our scrimmage at Arcadia and then, of course, as we went into the tournament with some very strong teams,” Komanec said. “We were able to be aggressive at the net defensively. We were able to slow down some big hitters, but we need to be more aggressive and consistent offensively at the net. That will come with more reps and more play. On Monday night at scrimmage our serve receive really struggled, but in Medford our serve receive was much more consistent and allowed us to get into system more often.”