MINERAL RIDGE — Mineral Ridge senior Faith Schneider was pumped up after she finished off the second set with an ace against Austintown Fitch at home on Monday.

The Rams (7-3) handed the Falcons just their second loss of the season with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20) victory.

“I was really excited,” Schneider said. “Fitch is a really good team. We were very excited to play them. It was a great opportunity to get better. It was amazing. I love my teammates. I love Ava Hulett. We’ve played together for two years now. She’s one of my best friends. We couldn’t have won this one without her.”

Hulett finished with 20 kills and Schneider had game highs of 32 digs and 23 kills.

Hulett took over the game in the closing moments. With the fourth set tied 19-19, she smashed and served the Rams to the win.

“We knew this was going to be a tough match,” Hulett said. “But, we knew as long as we played together as a team, and pushed together, that we would win. Those were important moments in the end. We all believed in each other.”

Mineral Ridge coach Ron Lesko couldn’t have agreed more.

“We won as a team today, that’s for sure,” Lesko said. “I was really proud of our kids for playing through some runs that we gave up. It’s always good to see our big hitters go up and rip the ball. But, if they’re not playing defense, and they’re not passing well, we don’t win. It’s a team game. They fought together and we came out on top.”

Senior Sammie Aulet led the Rams with 41 assists, and junior Gianna Wilson had a big block as all four sets were tight.

Wilson started the second set with a perfect touch shot and the Rams built some breathing room with a 5-0 advantage. The Falcons battled back, but couldn’t get closer than one point away before Schneider slammed the door.

The Rams built a 21-17 lead in the third, and looked like they were going to sweep the match before the Falcons (8-2) regrouped.

Fitch senior Jordan Smith (13 kills) spiked the ball, sophomore Rylie Simons finished with a game-high 47 assists and fellow sophomore Kylie Folkwein (16 kills) pounded it over the net for a comeback victory in the third set.

“It’s a tough loss,” said first-year Falcons coach Kylee Herberger. “We have some injuries, but I’m not blaming that. Ridge played their hearts out tonight. This is definitely going to be a turning point in our season. Whether it sinks us, or motivates us, it’s up to us. But, I think we’re going to take off from here.”

Lesko appreciated the competition.

“They’re a Division I school,” he said. “They’re a pretty established program in the area. This was one of the teams that we wanted on our schedule to challenge us and they did.”