The Pilot News - Falcons finish off Argos

“I think they just have good enthusiasm,” said Glenn volleyball head coach Megan Maure. “They had a couple points that were really crucial for us to get, and then when we got the confidence, we started putting them away.”
“We get satisfied too easily,” said Argos head coach Eugene Snyder. “We come back from being behind, and once we get ahead, it was like we were satisfied so we ease up for awhile. We just don’t play steady volleyball. They did many things very well — they had some good sets and good hits — but it’s not consistent. That’s been our problem all year.”
While Argos players struggled with consistency, Maure said her players looked more consistent than ever, particularly in the hitting department.
“Our attacking was more consistent, and that’s going to help us with other teams making errors,” she said. “That helped us a lot today; not making errors.”
Sophomore outside hitter Cayla Ochs led her team on the attack with 13 kills and just two attacking errors in the five-game match Wednesday.
Senior outside hitter Ila Jackson also put several points away with 10 kills for the evening, in addition to her team-leading four solo blocks on the defensive side of the net.
Also on defense for Glenn, libero defensive player Emily Traversa shoveled out 10 digs, and she led the Falcons in serve receives with 23 total.
“She had a lot of serve receive successes,” Maure said. “She really helped us out on serve receives, getting the ball to the setter.”
Freshman setter Anna Schmalzried capitalized on Traversa’s bumps with a prolific 30 assists for the night, and she also served up four aces. Maryellen Schmalzried and Ochs each dealt out three aces against Argos.
While Glenn’s serving helped lift the Falcons over the top, it was a bit of a stumbling block for the home team Wednesday. Brooke Thayer recorded a pair of aces for the Dragons, but they struggled with misserves throughout the night, something Snyder says is uncharacteristic for his team.
“As a rule we have five girls that are consistent on their serves, and that’s what has won games for us and kept us in games,” he said. “Tonight our serves weren’t too good at all.”
Thayer, a junior with Argos, put in strong performances in every aspect of her game Wednesday, leading the Dragons in digs with 49, and in kills with four. Melissa Carter recorded two kills for the home team, and she led on defense at the net with a match-high five blocks ahead of Thayer’s two.
“Brooke (Thayer) is probably more consistent on her serves and hits than any of the rest have been this year,” Snyder said. “Carter does a good job on hits, but it seems like we have trouble setting her up on hits, more than with Thayer.”
Argos falls to 4-3 with the loss to the visiting Falcons, while Glenn improves to 2-10 on the year. Maure is hoping her team can carry some of the momentum from Wednesday’s win over to the remainder of the season.
“I’m happy, very happy, and the girls are happy,” she said. “It’s our second win of the season, so hopefully that’ll help us win some more through the rest of the year.”
• JOHN GLENN 18-25-25-11-15,
ARGOS 25-20-14-25-10
At Argos
GLENN
Kills: Cayla Ochs 13, Ila Jackson 10
Blocks: Jackson 4
Assists: Anna Schmalzried 30
Aces: A. Schmalzried 4, Maryellen Schmalzried 3, Ochs 3
Digs: Emily Traversa 10, A. Schmalzried 7
ARGOS
Kills: Brooke Thayer 4, Melissa Carter 2
Blocks: Carter 5, Thayer 2
Assists: Kelsey Strahla 13, Ashley Recupido 8
Aces: Thayer 2
Digs: Thayer 49, Recupido 47
Records: Glenn 2-10; Argos 4-3.