Gallery by Tina Laney
New Richmond – Following a grinding, but successful venture Saturday at the Philip Barbour Tournament, there was some thought that the James Monroe volleyball team could come out flat Tuesday night.
Instead, the Maverick machine downshifted and rode the weekend momentum to a tri-match sweep of Wyoming East and River View without dropping a set.
“It is always in the back of your head, but you try not to show that to the girls that you are concerned,” James Monroe head coach Julie Bradley said about a possible letdown for her team. “They don’t want to make mistakes and they are hard on themselves. They have high expectations too.”
The first match of the night was a showdown between Region 3 Class AA foes James Monroe and Wyoming East.
Tied at 6-6, the Mavericks started to pull away behind a back row kill from Maggie Boroski and three aces from Aliyah Clarkson.
Wyoming East answered quickly with a 5-1 run to take a 12-11 lead, but it was the only time that the ladies from Monroe County trailed in the first set.
A block from Ava Pitzer stemmed the Warriors momentum and was followed by two straight kills from Boroski for a 14-12 lead.
Wyoming East tied the set one last time at 14-apiece before struggling with its serve receiving. Pitzer baffled the Warriors and sparked a 6-0 run which included a pair of aces.
As a team, the Mavericks kept both the Warriors and the Raiders under pressure all night from the serving line.
“We give them targets at practice and those areas are getting smaller and smaller,” Bradley said. “They are working hard at trying to place the ball and get it close to the lines where it is hard to judge it. It looks like it is going out and it drops in.”
James Monroe closed out the first set with a 5-0 run for a 25-15 win. The burst included a kill from Aliyah Clarkson, her third of the set and one from Boroski for her sixth bomb in the opener. Ava Dunlap had a block and Skylar Clarkson recorded two aces including the set winner.
Coming off a strong performance Saturday including 13 kills in a two-set victory over Class AAA Winfield, Boroski exploded for nine kills in set two Tuesday night.
“My first games this year were kind of rough. It is my senior year, so I knew I needed to step it up. Not just for me, but for the whole team,” Boroski said. “Everybody plays a big part. It is not just me hitting, it is my teammates giving me confidence. They all work really hard at practice.”
Leading 13-12 in set two, the Mavericks hit another gear and raced out to a 21-13 lead. A big key to the advantage was a four-point spurt that included three kills from Boroski and a kill from Mya Dunlap on an overpass at the net.
James Monroe secured the sweep of the home team with a 25-16 win in set two.
“Looking at the stats you have Ava (Pitzer), Aliyah and Maggie that are all three neck-and-neck. We also have Sadie (Mann),” Bradley said. “Then you have Mya (Dunlap) and Ava (Dunlap), along with Hannah (Rhodes) and Skylar with their setting and serving. Skylar has come along and she is serving hard. Haleigh (Mann) and Reagan (Whitt) are really working. I have ten good players and they are a dream team. I love them and they are fun to work with.”
In match two, James Monroe knocked off former sectional rival River View 25-8 and 25-18.
Wyoming East rebounded in the the final match of the night to beat the Raiders 2-0 (25-14 and 25-18).
Carli Raye led the Warriors with five kills, while Karlee Lusk and Amanda Silva has three kills each. Raye also had four blocks and four digs, while Silva recorded three aces.
In the opening match, Raye had six kills and three total blocks. Silva collected six digs and Lauren Staton had three aces, giving her five for the night.
“We struggled with our blocks today. Our lineup is a little bit different and we are still getting used to that,” Wyoming East head coach Tabitha Lusk said. “Our timing was a little off. Our back row is where our lineup change was and we are still struggling to learn our coverage and figure out where we need to be. James Monroe is a fantastic team though and we knew it would be a tough match.”
