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Crusaders sweep Red Riders

Hannah Spiess - Catholic Central (Mike Mathison)

WEIRTON — The Catholic Central volleyball team took another step toward clinching an OVAC playoff berth by cruising to a three-set win over Weir High Tuesday.

The Crusaders swept the Red Riders 25-14, 25-12, 25-11. The win moves Sherri Barber’s squad to 11-4.

“This was a big game for us point wise in the OVAC standings, especially because we are close to the cutoff,” Barber stated. “We have three games before then and, hopefully, we will be able to pull out a few more wins to host the OVAC semifinal.”

Central went up 5-4 in Game 1 on a Crissy Fornsaglio service ace. A Hannah Spiess kill and Samm Simmons slam and a tip, followed by another Fornsaglio ace serve pushed the score 10-4. Three Central errors brought the home team within three (10-7). A block, kill and ace by Simmons; two Brittany Bertoia kills; and a Grace Godich tip caused Weir’s Carrie Magnone to take a timeout, down 18-8. Weir scored four straight points to make it 19-12, but kills by Central’s Chloe Pieniazek, Fornsaglio and Simmons closed out the match.

A Fornsaglio kill put the Crusaders up 4-2 in Game 2 and they didn’t look back. A kill by Simmons put the visitor’s up 8-5. Ten straight points by Spiess, including eight ace serves, pushed the score 18-5. A Gabby Tournay kill broke the streak, but two errors by the Red Riders and a Bertoia tip make it 20-6. Errors on both sides of the net, plus a kill and block by Weir’s Mariah Stevens and Morgan Mills made it 23-11. A kill by Bertoia and a Simmons tip ended game two.

“Our girls are playing well together,” Barber noted. “We took the weekend off to rest and it worked in our favor.”

In Game 3, a Bertoia ace, Spiess block and two Weir errors put the blue and gold up 4-0.

A Mills and Fuscardo tip made it 5-2 before Central scored six straight points, powered by a Fornsaglio service ace and kills by Spiess and Godich. Two Central errors and an Elizabeth Gillette kill made it 11-5. Two Godich kills and a block; a Simmons tip and an ace serve; and a Pieniazek kill brought the score 18-7. A Fuscardo tip, Mills kill, and two Crusader errors made it 19-10. The match ended on three aces by Central’s Sydney Bennington.

“I think that we are afraid of winning,” Weir High head coach Carrie Magnone. “I said to the girls that they can’t let the fear of making mistakes, keep them from playing a hard fought game.

“Once we lose control, we have trouble getting it back. We will have runs in games and then they will fall off. It is frustrating for both me and for the girls.”

Weir (0-19) was led by Mills with 11 kills, two blocks, and eight points; Stevens with six kills and six points; Tournay with four kills and three points; and Gillette with nine kills, five blocks and six points. Katie Bennet added three kills, three points, and one ace; Gia Fuscardo had four kills, 18 assists and seven points; and Mackenzie Greathouse tallied 12 assists.

“A lot of our issues come from the mental aspect of the game,” Magnone continued. “The girls work hard and we will continue to work hard and try to produce some victories throughout the rest of the season.”

Central was led by Simmons with six kills, two blocks, 14 points, and two aces; Bertoia with four kills, 12 points, and one ace; Fornsaglio with four kills, 21 assists, 17 points and three aces; Spiess with 15 points and nine aces; and Pieniazek with two kills, nine points; and one ace. Godich added five kills and one block; Bennington five points and three aces; and Bonnie Thibault 30 assists and three points.

“We are looking forward to putting work in and coming out strong the rest of the season,” Barber added. “We will see Weir again next week for our senior night and we hope to have a big crowd to send our seniors off.”

The Crusaders are back in action today as they host St. John Central. The Red Riders are off until Thursday when they travel to Wheeling Park.

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