Mineral Ridge tops rival McDonald in marathon 5-setter
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MCDONALD -- The Mineral Ridge volleyball team had McDonald on its heels in the fourth set, but couldn't get the job done.
When the Rams had the same opportunity in the fifth, they made sure to end it.
Mineral Ridge stayed undefeated in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier by beating the rival Blue Devils 3-2. The Rams won 17-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-27, 15-13 on Wednesday.
"It's huge," Mineral Ridge head coach Ron Lesko said of the win. "It keeps you going in the right direction. The winner of this match is obviously going to take momentum into the conference for everybody they play."
In the opening set, the Rams (6-1, 3-0 MVAC Scarlet) held a quick 3-1 lead, but the Blue Devils quickly flipped the scoreboard in their favor and took a 7-6 advantage. An ace by Malayna Wilson tied the first set at 20. But three straight points put the Blue Devils in position to take the first set, which they did 25-22 after Wilson's serve went beyond the back line.
Mineral Ridge gained control relatively early in the second set. The Rams held a 16-9 lead, and a kill gave the second set to Ridge 25-17 and tied the match at 1.
The third set was tight as it was tied at 14. Four straight points gave McDonald (4-3, 3-1 MVAC Scarlet) a 17-14 lead, but a kill by Wilson tied it up again at 19. And a kill by Arionna Kays gave the Rams a 2-1 lead after they took the frame 25-20.
Ridge grabbed the lead early in the fourth. The Rams were ahead 8-3, forcing the Blue Devils to call a timeout.
The break did the Blue Devils some good. They fought to cut the deficit to 10-8 and eventually tied it at 17.
Mineral Ridge had McDonald on the ropes, leading 24-23, but the Blue Devils held off the match point. The Devils then tied the set at 25, and a Halle Kuntz kill gave them the fourth set 27-25 and tied the match at 2.
"I'm proud of the way we played hard, didn't give up. Kept fighting till the end," McDonald head coach Mike Klockner said. "I saw a lot of progression for the 13 (players) today. Some things we gotta fix to not get into holes. But overall, I was pleased with how we fought, how we played better. Just some things we gotta work on."
McDonald earned the first three points of the fifth, but the Rams tied it at 9 and again at 12.
Mineral Ridge led 14-13 when a block point by Brystal Mills clinched the win for the Rams.
Lekso said the win can be a confidence booster for the Rams, which could be dangerous for the rest of the league given their start to the year.
The Rams' only loss so far this season came on Tuesday at an undefeated Canfield.
"The JFK match could be something that could instill some confidence in us, because they were really talented," Lesko said. "We won that night in four sets.
"Those early-on wins establish confidence in players. We have four seniors out there, three juniors that are really stepping up, one kid that really didn't play varsity all of last year. So any W's that you can get under your belt -- I don't care who it is -- is just gonna build confidence."