August 17th was opening day for the Lorain County volleyball team.
While Firelands and Open Door were planning a good start to the season, there was only one team that was able to take a 1-0 lead.
Open Door made it difficult for Firelands in the first two sets. However, the Falcons were able to pull away in the final stretch and take a four-set victory.
“I was very pleased with them and I thought we did a very good job,” Firelands coach Mason Cooley said. “We have a more focused group this year. We worked on a lot of little details. I thought they did a very good job working on the things we worked on in practice.”
Firelands improved to 1-0, winning 25-21, 21-25, 25-14 and 25-15. This will be the only non-league game before the start of Lorain County League play, which begins on August 27 against Clearview.
“I felt like they were a little nervous. It was the first game of the year,” Cooley said. “Once they started playing, relaxed and got back to what we were doing in practice, I think they started to get going a little bit.”
Firelands and Open Door were tied after one set. This happened when Falcons outside hitter Josie Kirby (sophomore) came on strong. She had four total kills in the first two sets, but five in the third and four in the fourth, for a final 13 kills.
“We have a lot of top players this year and (Josie) is definitely one of them,” Cooley said. “We have a lot of girls that are stepping up and are very positive about everyone. It’s great to have her everywhere (in the rotation). She’s a very smart player and very versatile in hitting and setting. She’s a great motivator for everyone else to keep going.”
The game was capped by two consecutive blocks by Sydney Robinson (two kills).
The first two sets were back and forth. Firelands took a 7-1 lead in the first set and built a 13-6 lead, but Open Door countered with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 20-19.
Patriots middle attacker Hannah Szunyogh had five kills in the second half of the set, but the comeback quickly cooled and the Falcons won the set with an ace from Aubrynn Reichle.
The teams traded blows early in the second set, which Open Door won. Open Door went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. The Falcons scored three points in a row, but Open Door went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-9 lead.
“Hannah (Szunyogh) got almost 10 kills. After that, we kind of put that behind us. I think they (youths) took the lead in our outside attackers because they’re sophomores,” said Open Door coach Veronica Victor.
Firelands tried to come back, but Szunyogh got the last two kills.
“We had moments of brilliance, but also moments of nothingness,” Victor said. “It was kind of hot and cold, which I’m not used to. Usually we give them a tank (of energy). Then we get up and go. I think the passing game was the biggest disadvantage for us because we couldn’t execute the offense.”
Open Door fell to 0-1 and will host Lorain on August 19. With a Division VII team facing a D-IV team, the Patriots hope to learn valuable lessons from the loss.
“We want to make sure we’re ready at the end of the season,” Victor said. “Last year we obviously had a good season, but I don’t think we were challenged enough. When we play against a good team, sometimes we forget that that team is allowed to do (more advanced) things, because that’s just the way things work.”
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